Questionable Cargo
by BuriedBeneath
Summary: There was once a time when Captain Raya Dace drifted comfortably alone and under the radar of any galactic authorities. But, when a thief and a farmboy intrude on her cozy routine, she's forced to embark on a chase that will drag her (kicking and screaming) across a galaxy determined to get her killed. And if she finds love along the way—wait, who said anything about love?
1. Heart to Heart

_Author's Note:_

Only **slightly** rated T for a teensy bit of cussing. Though, you'd cuss too if a smuggling client betrayed you and made off with your ship.

_Disclaimer - **Star Wars: The Old Republic **is the product and property of LucasArts and BioWare. I could never hope to be affiliated with people/companies so awesome._

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>Chapter One: **_Heart-to-Heart_

The moment Corso saw Captain Raya Dace exit her freighter back on Ord Mantell, he knew she was his ticket off the planet. He recalled how she had stepped out into the dusty, war-torn air, making eye-contact with Skavak (who towered over her by a full head at least) as he approached with her payment and shaking his hand, and how she'd walked with an air of confidence that filled the space around her, despite her tiny frame.

She was younger than he'd imagined a Captain to be, probably only his age or slightly older, with pale blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, and long ebony hair pulled into a tail set high on the back of her head. Corso could only see the right side of her face, at that point, and while he did notice the mild cybernetic on her lower jaw, he couldn't help finding her strikingly beautiful. He'd thought the cybernetics were simply to enhance what was naturally there. But when she'd turned toward him as he made his way over, he realized his mistake, and had tried to hide his surprise when he saw that almost the entire left side of her pretty face and neck was marred by burn scars, and there was another cybernetic affixed to her forehead, above her left eye. When she spoke, he realized that the muscles around that eye were completely dead, and it was likely that-unless the eye itself was cybernetic-she was sightless in that eye. It was then that he realized the mechanics were there to repair, not enhance, and it was the first indication that she'd been through hell at some point, and that it had made her into the tough, business-oriented smuggler that she was today.

That moment awoke a curiosity inside Corso about her that had not left him since.

Captain Raya was what some more scholarly types would call an "introvert". But Corso was a farmboy fresh off of Ord, so he just thought of her as a loner... and he meant that in the _nicest possible way_. She would spend long hours in her quarters reading or working on a datapad, or in the Captain's chair in the cockpit with her feet propped up on the control panel, staring out into the void in quiet reflection.

He got the distinct impression that she didn't have many friends.

She was quiet, yes, but she wasn't shy. A job as a smuggler would not have suited her otherwise. Her quietness was simply a result of her hatred of small talk and a lack of anything more substantial to talk about. When dealing with clients, she was professional, always focused on the job, and her easy laughter and crooked grin allowed clients to feel comfortable around her without much preamble. She was good at her job, and though what she did was not strictly legal, she had a firm placement of lines she would never cross. Slavery and spice, to be precise. The former because she hated it, and the latter because it was too cut-throat.

Corso knew all of this within the first few weeks of knowing her, because although she was generally quiet, once she started talking about something she was good at, or interested in, one was hard-pressed to get a word in edgewise. And once you broke through that exterior of cool austerity, she was a blast to be around, with her dry jokes and lack of shame when it came to doing something ridiculous for a good laugh.

But despite him knowing all of this about her in the weeks since they met, he still knew frustratingly little about where she'd come from. Because if there was one thing Captain Raya wasn't open about, it was her past.

"Corso?" She said, her voice cutting into his contemplative silence. She was staring at him with her only live eyebrow cocked half-way up her forehead, and a smirk pulling her mouth to the side. At his surprised expression, she laughed quietly, shaking her head and crossing her arms loosely as she leaned back against the bridge's control panel. Her laughter was something to be cherished, he realized. While it was anything but rare, each little chuckle made something stir in him that he'd thought buried for longer than he cared to remember.

"Yeah?" He replied, shaking the fog from his head.

"You were on another planet, for a minute there."

"Sorry, Captain. What were you sayin'?"

Her smile grew wider, "I didn't say anything. It just got real quiet in here real fast, that's all."

"Oh."

"Y'know, Corso." She said, shrugging, "I'm not even _technically_ a Captain. I never went to flight school, and was never in any kinda military. I gave myself the title, because it sounded more official. But it's not like I ever actually got the credentials."

"You have your own ship. That's Captain enough for me."

She sighed, shaking her head, "Take a hint, farmboy. You don't have to call me Captain."

"I, uh, don't want to offend, Cap—, er… Should I call you by your family name, then?"

He was surprised by the darkness that flashed across her face then, and again when it vanished just as quickly to be replaced by her familiar smirk, "I think we've known each other long enough to be on a first-name basis, don't you? Just call me Raya."

The strange emotion he'd briefly witnessed on her face roused the curiosity in him, and he decided that if he was ever going to learn anything about this woman, he was just going to have to ask. It was only fair, wasn't it? She enjoyed peppering him with questions about his past, after all.

"So, Captain,"—he realized too late that he'd slipped, but she let it go with a knowing grin—"You know just about everything there is to know about me, huh?"

"You're my partner, aren't ya?" She responded with a shrug, "I like to know the people I work with. I need to know who I can trust. Otherwise I'll end up working with more skeevy sons-of-rancors like Skavak."

"Well," he returned her shrug with one of his own, leaning on the panel beside her, "what about you? You know all about me, but I know nothing about you."

She considered this for a moment, her brow furrowing, before she nodded, "I guess that's fair. What do you wanna know?"

He shrugged again, "I guess… Well, let's start with your homeworld."

Her head shook lightly, and she gave him a wry grin, "Would you believe it was Coruscant?"

"… Naw, not really."

She exhaled a breathy laugh, "Well, it was. But it's not something I tend to advertise."

"Why not?"

"It's… not a place that I have a lot of fond memories of." She responded after a moment.

"D'you… have any family there?"

"I did, once." The Captain explained, "My parents died before I was old enough to remember 'em, and they didn't really have any prospects, so my older sister and I wound up on the streets. She took care of me after that."

"Is she still there? Why didn't you go see her, when we were on the planet?"

"She ain't there anymore." She considered this for a moment, before amending with, "Well, I don't know. She could be, but I'd have no idea how to find her."

"Why's that?"

Silence fell for a moment, and with the way her jaw clenched, he began to regret his line of questioning. It didn't seem like she'd had it easy. But then, he had already known that, hadn't he? Not only from her visible scars, but he could tell by the way she carried herself with a sort-of wounded confidence, and unbreakable strength borne out of adversity. But that still didn't make it any easier.

"She was… kidnapped by slavers when she was thirteen."

"Captain, I…" Yep. He regretted it now. "I'm sorry."

"It's the reason I became a smuggler." She continued with an appreciative nod, "Not just 'cause it's pretty much the only thing my particular set of _skills_ are good for, and not just 'cause I practically stumbled into the career, but because it gave me access to a ship, and opportunities to fly all over the galaxy. She's out there somewhere, and I'm not gonna rest until I find her and kill the bastard who thinks he owns her."

A solemn silence fell over them again, and he apologized a second time, shaking his head, "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Hey, no, it's okay." She protested, "You were right. S'only fair for me to tell you about myself after everything you've told me."

She smiled at him, so, after a moment of reluctant hesitation, Corso finally asked her to continue, "What about you? What happened to you after your sister disappeared?"

The Captain caught his eyes when they flicked briefly to her cybernetics, and her lips pulled into a smirk, "In other words, what in the void happened to my face, right?"

"No! That's not what I—well, I am curious, but you… uh…"

"Relax, farmboy." She responded, laughing, "It happened ten years ago, and it ain't exactly inconspicuous. You think you're the first person to ask? You think I haven't gone through life prepared to tell the story? I've long since come to terms with it. I mean sure, I've lied about it more often than not, but that's just to keep things interesting. There are roughly eight different stories circulating about how this happened, and those are just the ones I made up." She said with a cheeky grin, "But you? I guess you deserve the truth."

He started to protest, weakly, but she ignored him, crossing her arms and leaning back again as she began: "I was ten years old when my sister disappeared. And when you're that age, and living on the streets, there ain't a whole lot you can do except use your small size to beg, pick-pocket, and steal from vendors, and for a couple years, I did exactly that."

"You were a thief?" He asked, but there was no judgement in it. He understood well the need to break a few laws in order to survive.

"A petty thief, yeah. Didn't really have much choice as a puny ten-year-old who looked even younger." She explained, "Then, when I was twelve, a good friend of mine managed to lie his way into working for a wealthy scientist in his lab. When I found out, I asked if he could do the same for me, and he said sure. I ended up employed as a glorified janitor, cleaning the scientist's house while he was down in his lab, but the money was decent and I had a roof over my head, so I couldn't really complain. He wasn't the nicest of guys, and had one hell of a temper, but as long as I stayed outta his way, he never had any issues with me. I worked there for years, and once I learned how to stay on his good side, I gradually made my way up to working as one of his lab assistants. He specialized in bio and chemical weapons, and I never did find out who his main consumer was, but I doubt it was legitimate."

She took a breath and shook her head, her blue eyes focused on the memory.

"Anyway, when I was sixteen, he tanked what would have been a particularly profitable business deal with one of his clients. I dunno what happened exactly, but I knew it wasn't good, because he retreated down to his lab with four bottles of whiskey. He got drunk, and after a few hours, called me down. It wasn't the first time he'd done it, so I thought he just wanted me to help him up the stairs. But that wasn't his plan this time."

Corso could see that this was going somewhere bad, fast, but when he opened his mouth to object, she held up a hand, giving him a pained, yet reassuring smile. So he quieted, and allowed her to continue.

"He had always been a flirt with other, older women, and when he was drunk, he would occasionally flirt jokingly with me, but until then, I'd never felt uncomfortable around him. But that night, he got a little too friendly with me, and decided that my young age didn't matter anymore." She paused for a moment, her mouth turning down at the edges and a sneer twisting her features, "When I refused, he threw a beaker of acid in my face, and landed a solid kick to the side of my head when I went down screaming. Sick bastard broke my jaw."

Corso hadn't realized his hands were clenching until he felt his fingernails bite into his palms.

"I _never_ saw it coming. I mean, he'd always had a temper, but it was... _so outta the blue_ for him to lose control like that." She pursed her lips in confusion for a moment, "I dunno if it was just the failure from earlier in the day in combination with his drunkenness, or if he mixed something with the whiskey, but whatever the case, it made him _crazy_. I thought he was going to kill me, and I have no idea how I managed to get his blaster, I just know that I did. So I shot him, and I ran. And I never looked back."

"Did he die?"

She shook her head, "Doubt it. I'd never handled a blaster before. I think the bolt ended up in his leg, but I can't really remember."

"Where'd you go?" Corso asked.

"Well, I knew I needed to get off the planet. I knew everything about this guy. I knew all of his contacts, seen all of his experiments. I knew all about his black market dealings. While I was too terrified to ever expose him, I wasn't convinced he wouldn't come after me, so I made my way to the spaceport and snuck into a freighter and stowed away. The freighter happened to belong to a smuggler by the name of Fellin Dace. He found me before taking off, when he went back to double-check his cargo. It was just as well that he did, because I probably wouldn't have survived the trip otherwise. I was terrified, and when he saw what kind of shape I was in, he took pity on me. He brought me to a medcenter, even paid for the basic cybernetics needed to repair my jaw and eye, and stayed until I healed to make sure I was okay."

"Why'd he do so much for a complete stranger? I can understand taking you to the medcenter—I mean, who wouldn't?—but everything else?"

Her mouth pulled into a fond smile when she responded, "He came to visit me a lot while I was recovering from the surgery, and I wondered the same thing. When I asked him as much one day, he told me that he had a daughter once, Dari, but that she died when she was a teenager. He never told me how, and I never asked, but he said that I reminded him of her, and that it brought out his hidden heart of gold."

"How did you ever trust him, after what happened with that scientist?"

"Well, at first, I didn't really have much of a choice. I was in agony, and I couldn't exactly fight him. But there was something about him that was genuine. I knew I could trust him, and even after that, I never got the impression that he was lyin' to me. He had his fair share of secrets, sure. But he never outright lied to my face."

"What happened after you healed?"

"He went back to work, of course. When he told me he was finally leaving the planet, I begged him to take me along. He refused. Said the life of a smuggler was no life for a young lady."

Corso shook his head with a chuckle, "I don't suppose you took that well."

"I did not." She replied, grinning, "I explained in no uncertain terms that I was neither of those things, and when he didn't budge, I stowed away on his ship again. Only this time, he didn't find me. I came out of hiding after I felt the ship make a hyperspeed jump, because I knew it'd be too late to turn back."

He grinned, "That sounds like you. What did he say when he saw you?"

"Oh, he was furious, but I didn't care. I escaped a life I hated, and nothin' could bring me down. Fellin threatened to drop me off at the next planet, but I pleaded with him to let me stay. I wanted to see the galaxy, and told him I'd do any work around the ship that needed to be done, as long as he'd teach me to be a smuggler, like him. I wanted the thrill of skirting the boundary between legal and illegal, because if my childhood taught me anything it was the knowledge that if something was legal, that didn't necessarily mean it was right." Unfolding her arms, The Captain turned around and faced the viewport, staring out into space, "I wanted a life of excitement. But mostly, I just wanted to see my sister again. And he was the one to help me do it. He eventually got tired of my whining, and agreed to teach me the skills I needed to get into the smuggling scene, but he said that as soon as it was over, he was dropping me off at the nearest planet, because he refused to be responsible for me." She paused for a moment, laughing slightly, "He kept telling me that, but he never did make good on it."

"Sounds like he was a good man."

She nodded, "He was the closest thing I ever had to a father."

There was a moment of solemn silence, and even though Corso had an idea of the answer, he asked, "What happened to him?"

"He died seven years ago." She explained, "There was no blaster fire, no epic space battle. He didn't go down in a blaze of glory, like he said he always wanted. He died in the ship, in his sleep, of a heart failure he never told me he had. I was devastated, and didn't know what to do. Then, as I was going through his things in preparation for his memorial, I found a holorecording on his datapad addressed to me. It started off by telling me that if I was watching it, it either meant that I was snooping through his stuff—and in which case, to leave his stuff alone, or I'd be cleaning the refresher for the next six months—or that he was dead. In that holo, he told me that he was proud of me, that he loved me like I was his own daughter, that I was the only family he had left, and so he was leaving everything, including the ship, to me."

Corso stared at her for a moment, and then looked around at their surroundings, "This was his ship?"

She nodded slowly, "It still is. Before that, the ship was just called the Legacy. But it's his legacy now. So I renamed it to the Dace Legacy in remembrance of all he did for me, and as a reminder to treat her well. Now you understand why I went to such great lengths to get it back, and why I want to make Skavak suffer for taking it away in the first place."

"I ain't never questioned that, Captain." He assured her, "Skavak's a dirty, heartless thief who deserves what's coming to him. And, he's still got my Torchy!"

"See, that's why I keep you around." She replied, nudging him gently with an elbow, "You understand me."

"Captain," He said, tossing her a wink, "I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be."

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><p><strong>Edit 0325/15:** Cross-posted to AO3 (same username) and finally got around to updating the writing for a better flow and to make it more representative of a multi-chapter fiction, as this was originally intended to be a oneshot. Some minor changes to Raya's backstory, but nothing that will have an effect on future chapters, and all other story elements remain the same.


	2. Really Not Much of a Doctor

_Author's Note_

So, I wasn't going to continue this, but I had some free time, and then, oops. Fic.

I should mention that this Corso has appearance mod #2. Because I really like him with that short, messy hair. Big thanks to reviewers/lurkers/watchers, etc.

Enjoy,

-BB

_Disclaimer: **Star Wars: The Old Republic **belongs to Lucas Arts and BioWare. _

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>Chapter Two **

Really Not Much of a Doctor

Captain Raya always did enjoy the feeling of sitting in the pilot's seat of her own ship, her booted feet propped up on the control panel, watching that ethereal blue tunnel of hyperspace swirl around her. And, now that she had someone sharing the feeling with her, sitting in the co-pilot's seat beside her, she had to admit, it was nice to have some company again. She had been alone for quite some time, aside from the occasional smuggled person (usually escaped slaves) just trying to get offworld, just as she had been so many years prior. She had never been a dependant woman. Growing up on the streets of Coruscant's G17 district didn't exactly shape girls into helpless damsels, to say the least, and ever since Fellin's death, she had flown consistently solo, just her, her inherited freighter, and her constantly changing cargo.

Stealing back her ship right out from under Skavak's nose had been almost as satisfying as it would have been to kill the bastard, but unfortunately, she hadn't had the time, or the means to do so. Either way, her ship was back in her possession, and now she had a co-pilot, and not only did she enjoy his company, but she also rather looked forward to it after the occasional mission apart. He was kind, sweet, and that farmboy innocence was just so adorably endearing.

Said co-pilot was strangely silent today, however. He sat there, brows furrowed, deep blue eyes staring down at the controls, despite the autopilot being engaged. She may not have been lifelong friends with him, but she'd at least known him long enough to realize when something was bothering him.

"Hey, Corso." She said, nudging him lightly with her elbow. Starting a little at the unexpected contact, he turned to face her, eyebrows raised in question. "You're oddly quiet. You okay? You look like you got something on your mind."

"I, uh... no." He replied, "It's nothing."

The Captain stared at him, her one living eyebrow lifted up on her forehead, "That's bantha dung, and you know it."

"What?"

"Hey, I told you the _truth _about how I got my scars." She said, pointing at the marred left side of her face with a smirk, "I haven't told anyone that in years. So you're not allowed to lie to me."

He raised an eyebrow to match her own and folded his arms across his chest, but the slight twist of his lips betrayed his bemusement, "Is that so?"

"Yep." She responded with a nod, "So what's up?"

He hesitated for a moment, running a hand through his hair with a sigh before he turned to her, "I never like asking for favours, Captain. But, I guess we know each other well enough by now."

"Damn straight, we do. And how many times have I told you to call me Raya?" She shook her head, a light grin parting her lips, "What is it you need?"

"I want to look for my cousin Rona." He explained, "She's all the family I got left, and I think she should know what happened."

"You... really think I wouldn't be all for that?" She asked, shaking her head, "Corso, I became a smuggler so I could find my sister one day. Do you honestly believe I wouldn't help you find your cousin?"

"That's not the problem, Cap—Raya."

"Then what is?"

"I've been doing some research in my spare time, and I found someone who claims to know her. Kind of a shady character, but that's who Rona always drifted to. I think he really can get us to her. But..."

"But?"

"It means we'd have to go back to Coruscant again. He's apparently a street doctor there."

_Ah. Coruscant._

"After hearing about what happened to you there, I'll understand if you don't want to go back for something like this."

Raya just stared at him a moment, her mouth curling up at the corner as she let out a quiet breath of laughter, "You're sweet, Corso. But I'm not sixteen anymore. I don't exactly _like_ the planet, but that doesn't mean I won't take you there to find your cousin. I'm not that selfish. To be honest, I'm more worried it'll be a scam."

"Yeah," he nodded, "Rona loved to walk that line. Every time Uncle caught her stealing, it would turn out she was sneaking cash to some mom with two kids on the street. She's the reason I know breaking the law's got nothing to do with being a good man."

"Sounds like she and I'd get along."

"Yeah, I think you'd like her. Rona was kind of our family rebel. She's really the reason I'm here."

"Oh, so I have her to thank for your delightful company?"

"Well, if your old mentor Fellin was still alive, I'd be thanking him a thousand times over for eventually bringing me yours." She smiled at him, and he returned it before continuing, "Let's just go to Coruscant and hear her friend out. Go ahead and ask for cash for the job if you want. I just want to find Rona."

"I'll set a course as soon as I can."

"I appreciate that, Cap—" Her eyes narrowed, "—Raya. Thanks."

Two days later, Raya pulled the _Dace Legacy_ into the Coruscant spaceport, exiting it with Corso at her side.

"He said he'd be in the Dealers Den cantina." He explained as they started on their way.

Upon entering the dank, dusty, smoke-filled place, she allowed him to take the lead until it was apparent he was heading for a yellow-skinned devaronian that she instantly recognized. Memories she'd thought buried for years clawed their way to the surface, and the blood in her veins immediately turned to ice. She froze mid-stride, her eyes going wide. _Doctor Hope, my foot._

Corso took two steps before realizing she was no longer following, and turned back to face her, his curious gaze becoming more serious as he noted the look on her face, "Captain? What's wrong?"

"I, uh..." she stammered, forcing herself to blink and to take a breath, "You go on ahead. Go ask him about Rona. I'll be over at the bar."

"You sure?" He asked, stepping closer, his brows furrowing in concern, "You don't look so good."

"I'll be fine." She replied, trying (and failing) to reassure him, "Go."

He studied her for a moment, staring into her eyes as she desperately hoped they weren't betraying the fear she currently felt, "No. Not until you tell me what's going on." He said decisively, "You're shaking, Raya."

Clenching her teeth until the cybernetics affixed to her jaw started to ache, she willed herself to stop trembling and took another calming breath, "Later. Go find your cousin."

He let out a sigh, clearly unhappy with the situation, but evidently aware he wasn't going to win this argument, "Alright, but I'm gonna hold you to that."

She nodded, and he hesitated for a few seconds before making his way over to "Doctor Hope". She made a beeline for the bar, attempting to sit at an angle that both shadowed her face and allowed her to watch the exchange between her good friend and the devaronian. Still unsatisfied with the state of her appearance, she pulled the ponytail out of her hair and tried to arrange it in a way that somewhat hid her features until Corso and the alien stepped into a back room, and her heart quickened its pace, pounding against her ribcage hard enough that she was certain the bartender could hear it.

Speaking of which, "Give me the strongest thing you got."

A glass of... _something_ appeared before her and she downed it in one gulp, feeling it burn all the way down, and forced herself to relax.

Two minutes (that felt like an eternity) later, Corso emerged from the room along with the "doctor" and made his way over to her as the devaronian returned to his place by the card tables.

"Well?" She asked, feeling herself calm down a little with her friend's return.

"He's not gonna tell me where Rona is until I smuggle some meds into the underlevels for him."

"Meds." She repeated, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, glancing over the man's shoulder to the doctor before cutting her eyes back to Corso again.

"Yeah." He replied, "Now are you gonna tell me what happened with you back there?"

"When you find your cousin." She explained, tossing a few credit chips onto the counter and starting out of the cantina, never more eager to leave a place in her life, "Now let's get this over with so you can find her."

Corso begrudgingly followed.

When they reached the cantina in the undercity, Raya's unease all but disappeared, replaced by a true concern for what Corso may have gotten himself into. But she remained silent. She would have done anything to see her sister again. Why should she expect anything else from him?

They made their way over to a rattataki woman known as Big Jan, who was apparently Hope's "nurse" and upon their approach, she said in broken Basic, "You bring goods?"

"Yeah, I got your goods." Corso muttered, "Let's do this."

"Now time, cut out spice."

"Cut... _what!_" Raya repeated, staring at Corso incredulously, "You let him put that _inside_ you?"

"It was the only way to smuggle it down here." He explained, his eyes suddenly narrowing in anger, "But he told me it was medication, not spice."

Her face fell into her hand as she let out a sigh, "Do you have any idea what would have happened if you got caught?"

"Yeah. I do. But I had no idea it was spice."

She took two steps up to Big Jan, grabbed her by the collar, and pulled her close, "Get that crap out of him. _Now._ And by the Void, if you hurt him, I will _kill_ you."

Despite the fact that the woman towered over Raya by a full three inches at the very least, she cowered in fear at the ferocity in her eyes, "Yes! I cut out spice! Right now!"

Two minutes, and the deed was done. They stood back in the undercity cantina again with a handful of illegal spice and Big Jan looking at them with a mixture of fear and confusion.

"You used me!" Corso exclaimed, anger coloring his face as he looked at the woman, "If you weren't a lady, you'd—" He heaved a sigh, shaking his head, "I gotta go have a word with your boss."

"I not speak Basic." Jan stammered, struggling to understand, "You say... take spice away? Good spice. I give good money. Big... how you say, 'cut'."

"Oh, to the Void with this." Raya grumbled, taking the vials and dropping them on the ground, where she smashed them under her boot, ignoring Big Jan's protests. Then, taking two quick steps back up to the woman again, she jammed a finger in her face. "We don't _want_ your money," she spat, and whirled back again.

"Doctor no be happy with this!"

"Yeah?" She called over her shoulder, "Well the _good doctor_'s about to find my boot up his exhaust port!"

"I love it when you talk dirty." Corso muttered when she took his arm and pulled him with her as she started out of the cantina.

"Now is _not_ the time, Corso."

Fear and anger are a dangerous combination. Ask any Jedi, and they'll tell you it's a path to the dark side. Ask Raya, and she'll tell you it's a way to get yourself killed. She understood well, the benefits behind staying calm and rational in the heat of a battle. But after being brought into a confrontation with the devaronian who had caused her so much pain the past and then having that same devaronian trick a good friend of hers into doing something that could have gotten him jailed, or worse, any semblance of rational thought just vacated from her mind completely.

Upon their re-entrance into the Dealer's Den cantina, she stalked purposefully up to "Doctor Hope", and had to consciously restrain her hands to keep from strangling the man until he made good on his promise to lead Corso to Rona.

"So, did the delivery go well?"

"Yeah," Corso responded angrily, "We did your dirty work, you fraud! Now where's my cousin?"

"You keep us waiting," Raya added with a furious glare, pulling her blaster on him, "and I've got a few things to implant in you."

The man lifted his hands in surrender, taking a step back, "Woah, woah, back off there—hey wait, don't I know you?"

_Bastard doesn't even remember._

"Not a chance." She grumbled vehemently, lowering the weapon.

He stared at her for a moment before turning back to Corso, "You're lookin' for Rona Riggs, right? Well, she's the one who thought you'd be right for the job."

"... _What._"

"Don't shoot the messenger." He added, shrugging before walking away to the other side of the bar while a young woman with dark hair and green eyes approached in his place. Raya took note of the devaronian's location before looking at the woman she assumed was the reason they'd come here in the first place, feeling the blood beginning to boil in her veins.

The woman let out a rasping chuckle and turned to Corso, "Just like old times, eh, cuz?"

_Oh, well this day just keeps getting better._

"'Course, I'm a little more big-time now than Ma and Pa ever would have allowed."

"Are you insane?" Raya asked, "You sent your own _cousin_ to smuggle spice into the undercity!"

"How could I resist? I remember how much my baby cousin loved all our little _pranks_."

"Rona..." Corso said, his voice so, so much calmer than Raya's at that moment, so she swallowed her pride, snapped her mouth shut, and allowed the man these few moments to speak to his cousin without interruption, "What happened to you? What're you doing here?"

"I'm the underboss for the Black Suns on this part of Coruscant! Not bad considering five years ago, I was shovelling ronto dung."

"You're... a _gang member_?"

"Gang _leader_. You think I should write home? Make Ma and Pa proud?"

"You can't." Corso explained softly, after a moment of hesitation, his head solemnly bowed, "They're all dead, Rona. Separatists got 'em."

She laughed. The woman actually _laughed_ to discover that her parents were _dead_. Anger surged in Raya's veins, and she could almost _feel_ the smoke that had to be coming out of her ears.

"After all that grousing about the big dangerous galaxy." Rona replied, "Guess that showed them."

"How can you say that?" Corso responded, appalled, "Don't you care?"

"Do you have any idea how _lucky_ you are to have even _known_ them?" Raya couldn't keep her mouth shut any longer, her hands fisting at her sides, as she let out a growl, "Oh, if you weren't Corso's cousin..."

He looked over at her apologetically, understanding clear in his ocean blue eyes before turning back to the woman, "Come on, we're getting you outta here."

Raya let out a sigh. She knew where this was going.

"Poor, chivalrous little Corso," Rona said, "Don't you get it? I don't need to be rescued. I _chose_ this life."

For his sake, Raya tried to stay calm when she added, "There's only two ways outta that life, sweetheart. With us, or in a body bag."

"This isn't what you wanted, Rona. We talked about wild adventures, not... smuggling spice!"

"Or getting your cousin to do it for you..." the Captain muttered under her breath.

"You wanted to be like the captain, right? Thumb your nose at society and use your freedom to make a difference!" He said, looking over at her as she turned and made eye contact with him, surprised.

_Is that really how he thinks of me?_

"You can still do that."

"It was a nice dream." Was Rona's reply, "But this is where I woke up. I'm sorry I dragged you into it. Go with your captain. Maybe you two can show me how to make a better life."

Then, she was gone.

_Pfft. I can barely manage the life I have, let alone somebody else's._

"Nothing worse than coming to the realization that your parents were right..." Her partner muttered, watching his cousin leave with a sad shake of his head.

"You did what you could, flyboy." Raya replied, her voice soft, "The rest is up to her."

"It's not like I didn't see it coming." He shrugged, "'Doctor Hope'... I just didn't wanna think that was really who Rona'd fallen in with. That's what I get for tryin' to see the best in folks."

Raya was silent for a moment before she met his eyes, "Don't lose that farmboy innocence, Corso. It's one of the main things I like about you."

He didn't reply, and silence fell for a moment, until Raya glanced over at the devaronian from earlier, narrowing her eyes as she felt heat flare up her neck again, and the ice cold fear spike into her veins. But this was the last time she would let that happen. She was ending that part of her life, once and for all, "Speaking of 'Doctor Hope', there's one more thing I gotta do before we leave."

"I dunno, Captain. I just wanna get outta here."

"You'll like it. I promise." She said, reaching out and taking his hand, pulling him with her across the cantina, "Come with me."

When they came within range of the _good doctor_, Raya let go of Corso's hand, "You remember that scientist I told you about from when I still lived here on Coruscant?"

"Of course." He replied, his eyes darkening to anger at the memory she'd told him of her past.

She simply nodded, then backed away with a wink before whirling and approaching the "doctor", stepping up to him as his eyes widened in surprise, planting her hands on his shoulders and driving her knee upwards into his groin with all her might. He grunted loudly in agony, dropping to his knees, but she wasn't finished yet. Her right hand curled into a fist and she fired it directly down into his jaw hard enough to bruise her knuckles and send him sprawling onto the floor, "_That_ was for ten years ago, you sick son of a rancor!"

"I... I knew it!" He wheezed, staring up at her with his eyes wide in terror, "I knew I recognized you!"

"I was too terrified to turn you in back then, and even when I first came in here today I was paralysed with fear. I should _kill_ you for doing this to me!" She pointed to her face, "But after seeing the worthless cowardly scumbag you've become, killing you would be a waste of my time and energy."

Turning back to Corso with her head held high, she smiled when she noticed the broad grin on his face, his eyes meeting her own. A series of claps and cheering rose from the audience she'd gathered and she made her way over to him, feeling better than she had _years_, "Shall we?"

He nodded, and she linked her arm through his while they turned and made their way for the door. Chuckling and shaking his head lightly, he looked down at her as they walked, "Have I told you how much I like you, Raya?"

"Not today, no."

"Well then I really, _really_ like you."

She smiled up at him, "And I really, _really_ like you, too."


	3. Pulling Rank

_Author's Note:_

Big thanks to reviewers/lurkers/fav-ers, etc. :)

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>Chapter Three**

Pulling Rank

"Y'know, you should wear your hair down more often." Corso said when they later returned to the Coruscant Spaceport.

Raya glanced at the ebony waves bounding past her shoulders for a moment before looking up at him, "Yeah?" She shrugged, "Well, maybe if I didn't get shot at every other day, I would. But alas, I seem to be at the top of everybody's hit list nowadays."

"Yeah, I guess it's hard to be the best shot in the galaxy when you have hair in your eyes."

"Bad enough being half-blind." She added, "You have _no_ idea how much we rely on depth perception."

"So you _are_ blind in one eye?" Corso asked, "I wondered, but..."

"I was." She clarified, "Up 'til three years ago, after a particularly profitable gig. I drew a lot of attention after that. Made just as many enemies as I did allies, and there were more eyes on me than I could count. Figured I should at least have the bare minimum to measure up, so I used the profits of the job to get a cybernetic replacement."

Corso opened his mouth to say something, but she stopped him with her hand raised, "And before you ask, no, there's nothing special about it. I can't shoot lasers out of my eye or anything, it just lets me see. My humanity has already been partially taken away. I wasn't going to give up any more than that voluntarily." She explained, and then lifted one shoulder in a shrug, "Besides, if I'm gonna be the best shot in the galaxy, I damn well want it to be for my skill, and not because I have a cybernetic advantage."

"Having a few cybernetic implants to repair what was taken away from you doesn't make you inhuman, Captain." Corso replied, trying to reassure her as they stepped up the ramp to the _Dace Legacy_, "And it's not like you didn't need 'em. You would've died without 'em, and up until three years ago, you were blind in one eye."

"Yeah, see, I _do_ know that." Raya's brow furrowed as she shook her head, "Logically, it makes sense. But knowing it and actually _believing_ it are two different things."

"Well you're being an idiot." He said, stepping through the airlock as she stopped.

She glared at him, the door hissing shut behind her. Her eyebrow shot upwards and her arms folded across her chest, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Standing between the two sets of doors, tension radiated between them as the chamber pressure equalized. Their eyes met. Hers narrowed; his indignant, daring her to challenge him. The air seemed charged, electricity firing between them as they stared each other down.

"I'm still your captain, you know."

"And yet, you insist on me calling you Raya." He stepped closer, his lips tilting to the side, "Why go to so much trouble to make me see myself as your equal, if you decide to pull rank the moment I start acting like it?"

"Well, I—you—!" _Words, Ray. Form them._

"Raya, listen to me." Corso said, taking charge of the situation and reaching out to take her hand. His free hand lifted to place a palm against the scarred flesh of her cheek as he stared down at her with a lopsided grin, "You're human enough for me."

Leaning her face into his hand, her heart ached with the adorable sweetness and acceptance found in the simple gesture, though she tried her _damndest_to hide it. Biting back a smile as she pulled her face away, she looked up at him, "That was really cheesy, Corso."

He came closer still, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body as he gave her a tiny smirk, "Yeah, but you liked it."

Her eyes narrowed again, despite the shiver running down her spine, "You're telling me what I like, now?"

"No," he responded, shaking his head, his face mere inches from her own, "I just know you."

"And what makes you think you know me?"

His head tilted down closer to her, and her eyes fell half-lidded of their own accord as she looked up at him, "I might be the only one who does."

Then suddenly, she was kissing him. His hands framed her face as her own slid upwards across his chest and into his hair. He shivered as her fingernails scraped lightly against his scalp, and his left hand moved to surround her waist, pulling her against him, making electricity shoot from the top of her head down her spine, and back up again.

_Hiss._

"Welcome back, Master! Oh—Oh my! Am I interrupting?"

She had never moved so fast. Their eyes shot open, and she ricocheted away from Corso as if she'd been burned, clearing her throat and discreetly glancing around in the hall to see if anyone else had seen other than her annoying steward droid. Corso couldn't seem to keep his hands still, moving them from behind his back, to his hips, to being clasped in front of him as if he was a teenager who didn't know what to do with himself. It was utterly adorable.

"See-two!" She exclaimed, fake enthusiasm coloring her voice as she stepped out of the airlock and into the ship, "How... _lovely_ to see you!"

"Every time you come back from a mission, I thank the maker I wasn't designed for combat." The droid rambled on as he brought her up to speed on what had occurred on the ship while she was away, following her through the hall.

Corso was gone when she glanced back.

* * *

><p><em>Protocol droids. Cock-blocking since 10 ATC.<em>


	4. Reality Check

_Author's Note:_

Not much to say this time around. I have about 3 more chapters of this written, and I'm gonna try and keep that buffer up, but I am writing other stories as well, so it may not happen. You'll see some frequent updates to this one over the next little while though.

Also, check me out on twitter: youngtivvy  
>And tumblr: minaraya<p>

Enjoy,

BB

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Four**

Reality Check**  
><strong>

After a quick chat with Risha to find out their next destination, as well as quickly checking up on Bowdaar, Raya found Corso back in the cockpit as she flopped down into the Captain's seat and punched in the coordinates. She could feel his eyes on her, and when she faced him, he looked away, residual awkwardness from their earlier encounter coloring his cheeks. She had to hold back her chuckle. He had taken such incentive when he'd kissed her earlier (or had she kissed him?) and now he was giving her space. Stars, he was adorable. Little did he know, space was the last thing she wanted. He, however, probably needed the time to figure out what exactly had happened between them, and if she was honest, she had no idea. She had feelings for him—more than she'd ever felt for anyone. But could she see a future with him? She'd pegged Corso as the type of man who would want to settle down, raise a family. Probably on a _farm_.

_Oh stars, what have I gotten myself into?_

"Where to next, Captain?" He asked, clearing his throat, and the cloud of awkwardness left the room.

"Alderaan." She replied, "Gotta deliver an old rust bucket droid to some nobles, and a head-in-a-jar to some stuffed-shirt history buff."

"Sounds like fun."

She heard the sarcasm, but replied anyway, chuckling, "Wait 'til you meet the nobles."

He smirked at her, "That bad, huh?"

"Worse."

"I've heard about the planet, though." Corso said after a moment, "The mountain ranges go as far as the eye can see on the spaceport."

"Mhm," Raya added appreciatively, "It's a beautiful place. If I were to ever consider settling anywhere—as unlikely as that is," She added the afterthought too quickly, trying to let him know where she stood on the matter of actually _settling down_, "I'd consider living there. As long as it's as far away from the nobility as humanly possible."

"Heh, I don't see you giving up your ship anytime soon."

_Oh. Well it's comforting he doesn't expect anything like that. Now I don't have to break the news to him if this… thing between us ever gets serious._

She chuckled, "Well _that's _the understatement of the century. But you're right. I'm going to find my sister before I'd ever consider it, but the thought of giving up the _Legacy, _Fellin's ship…. I dunno if I'd be able to do that to him. He left it to me and getting rid of it just doesn't seem like the best way to honor his good name and everything he did for me."

"Well, maybe you don't have to. Just because you got a house planetside doesn't mean you gotta give up flying. It just means you always have a place to come back to."

"You got a point there." She leaned back in her seat, propping her feet up on the control panel with a shrug, before fondly laying her hand on the galaxy map, watching it flare up and move through systems and planets with a faraway expression, "I love this ship; she's got battle scars, and some things that just won't work no matter how hard you try to fix 'em, but she's fast and she's tough, and the scars don't mean a thing when it comes down to it, because even when it seems like she's not gonna pull through, she'll never let ya down."

Corso leaned back, matching her position as he looked at her, and she watched a smile pull his mouth to the side, "You forgot beautiful."

Raya faced him, her brows furrowed in confusion, "What?"

"She's beautiful too."

"Well, yeah—"

"And smart, and funny, and she's perfect just the way she is." He leaned forward, cutting her off and taking one of her hands, "And she's got a set of blue eyes that take a man's breath away."

She stared at him, still processing what he'd said, and her heart skipped a couple of beats when it actually sunk in. She got comments like that all the time, sure. But never from Corso, so when he began to flatter her, _really _flatter her and actually _mean_ it, she found it difficult to breathe all of a sudden. When had he become so bloody _suave_? Any why did she _like _it? "I… get the feeling you're not talking about the ship."

He shook his head, "Not in the slightest."

She stared at him a moment longer, trying to piece her thoughts back together and failing spectacularly. _Er… what was I saying again?_

Her thoughts came back to her in a rush, and she shook her head to get herself back on track, "Uh, yeah, Alderaan." She said, sitting back while Corso let go of her hand with a knowing smile and she fought to keep from throwing herself at him, "Where the nobles are as likely to stab you in the back with the same hand they use to greet you. And they can be smooth bastards, too."

She was later proven right when they delivered the rust bucket droid to a young nobleman and his sister. The first sentence out of his mouth was an insult to the droid, which he somehow twisted into a compliment (?) directed at her. Her eyebrow cocked upwards on her forehead as she entered and he introduced himself as Lenn, leering at her. She blinked at him, remembering Risha's warning about not getting on a noble's bad side by leaving a bad impression, so she tried to remain professional (HA, Raya. Professional.) and simply hint that she wasn't interested, but he was either dense, or just didn't care, because his flattery didn't stop there.

Corso was, well, less than pleased with the way Lenn was coming onto her, and when he suggested leaving while she talked over the mission with Lenn, she turned to him and said, "I need you with me, Corso."

Now, she certainly was no damsel who needed protection. She could have her blaster drawn and Lenn bleeding on the floor before he even knew what happened. But the circumstances of her past made her uncomfortable with _any _flattery, even if it was harmless. She would never admit it, but she was self-conscious of her scars, and not just the ones on her face. The doctor's behaviour that night, ten years prior when she'd nearly died made her uncomfortable with such attention, and the only reason she accepted it from Corso was because he had been with her long enough to gain her trust, and after that, _she_ was the one who started the flirting. Corso probably never would have made a move if she hadn't started it all, but he was just so damn _cute_ and possibly one of the most attractive men she'd ever seen. How could she _not _want a piece of that?

No, her thought process was more along the lines of letting Lenn down easy (which was _weird_ for her. She had to keep reminding herself to leave a good impression) by making him aware there was something between her and Corso (nevermind the fact that she had no idea exactly what it _was _that was between them).

The way Corso said, "Anything you want, Captain," seemed to do the trick, though, because Lenn backed off a little. Seriously though, this guy just wasn't getting the hint. He wasn't even all that attractive. Why would she bother with him when she had a drop-dead _gorgeous _guy with her all the time, and who had shown a clear interest in her?

_Because he wants to settle down, _Her inner voice reminded her, _And you can't bring yourself to love him and leave him._

_I could settle._ She answered herself mentally, _Eventually. Maybe._

_Kids?_

_Not a chance. But maybe he doesn't want kids?_

Even if he didn't, what if in ten, twenty years time, she still hadn't found her sister? She had vowed to never quit looking until her sister was found, and she meant it. Could Corso wait forever? And even if he could, would she _let _him?

_I'm gonna break his heart._ She thought, and she knew it was true.


	5. Fear

**Questionable Cargo  
>Chapter Five<strong>

Fear

Alderaan was just as beautiful as Raya remembered, even if it was a warzone. There was nothing she loved more than looking out the viewport of her ship to a vast and endless sea of stars, and just trying to picture the opportunities out there. But this view, the mountains carving a harsh jagged edge across a perfectly blue sky, dotted with clouds and preceded by a series of lush green fields and trees, and the smell of a fresh rainfall on the air? This was a very close second.

What would it be like to live in the mountains, she wondered. She may be a spacer, but she could appreciate a good view planetside, too. Maybe Corso was right. Maybe having a house planetside wasn't such a bad idea for the future. As long as she still got to keep her ship, anyway. There was no way she was giving that up. It was a small enough freighter that she didn't need a crew to keep her in the air, and she'd been flying solo for years before the fiasco with Skavak.

It _certainly _wasn't something she was considering for any time soon, though. She had too much to do, a notorious crime lord (and his loot) to find, a ship-thief to kill, and her sister to track down.

And then there was Corso.

She sighed. They hadn't spoken of their encounter in the airlock, though Raya could tell he wanted to. He was giving her space, and as much as she told herself she didn't want it, she knew she needed the time to figure out just what it was she wanted from him. And damn, when had he gotten so bold? The way he'd looked at her the day before in the cockpit sent a shiver down her spine even as she remembered it. Where had he been hiding that smooth demeanor?

Could she actually see herself with him? Could she see this... _whatever it was _between them becoming something serious? She hadn't trusted anyone as much as she trusted him since Fellin was alive, _let alone_ a man. He had never pushed her to do anything she wasn't comfortable with; he hadn't even _flirted _with her until she broke the ice. He was the perfect gentleman, and _that_ certainly wasn't something she was familiar with, though that didn't necessarily mean she didn't like it. She was no prude, and when she'd been flying solo, her lifestyle had reflected that. But she'd been as likely to stab those men as she was to sleep with them. It was a bit of fun on her downtime; nothing more. Corso was different. She had a friendship with him that she didn't want to ruin by making things complicated, and as attractive as he was, sleeping with him would certainly make things complicated. She spent every day around him, and he would see it as more than just sleeping together. She couldn't afford to make things awkward between them, and she couldn't break his heart like that. She wasn't entirely sure it wouldn't break her _own _heart.

And that was the thing, wasn't it? Raya felt something for Corso she had never felt before. He saw past her scars, her cybernetics and hidden insecurities, and accepted her as she was. Stars, he made her feel _human_ again. How _long _had it been since she'd felt that way?

If she ever came remotely close to settling down with anyone, it would be him.

_Stars, Raya. One kiss and you're already considering a whole life with him. Slow DOWN!_

Funny how falling in love changes your perception on things you've seen a certain way your entire life.

_WHOA. Hold the holo. Who said anything about __**love**__?_

_You did, nitwit. Well, _thought_ it anyway. _

_Oh... __**oh stars. **__Oh damn, oh hell, oh bloody, bleeding galaxy. Is __**that **__what this is? Don't tell me I'm falling in __**love **__with this guy!_

"Captain?"

"Yeah!" she said, much too quickly, Corso's twangy Mantellian accent ripping her from thoughts she was all too happy to get rid of as she flicked her head in his direction. They had been walking through the Castle Lands, surveying the scenery as they picked their way back to the ship, but so absorbed in her inner musings, she hadn't been aware she'd stopped walking, freezing in mid-step while her heart pounded in her chest and her stomach did a series of backflips.

"Uh... you okay?" he asked, "You look like you seen a ghost all've a sudden."

She laughed, loud and obnoxious, hoping to get her heart to stay inside her chest by sheer force of will. She was sure her stomach was rolling around on the floor, "I'm fine! I'm good!" she exclaimed a little too happily, starting off again, her strides long and purposeful as she attempted to force herself back to business as he followed behind her, bewildered, "C'mon, we got specs to deliver."

When they returned to the _Legacy _that night, burnt out and exhausted, Raya stumbled into the lounge after delivering the radiation shield specs from House Teraan to Risha. Rolling her shoulders, she pulled off her gloves, kicked off her boots, and collapsed onto the couch, tossing a forearm over her eyes with a groan. They'd been stopped at least a dozen times on the way back to the spaceport by Republic soldiers enlisting her help, and Raya was finding it difficult to be in a dozen places at once. The only consolation was the amount of money she received from all the extra work, "How is it possible that I'm doing more for the Republic as a lawless spacer, than their own soldiers?"

"'Cause you're not bound by rules and obligations." Corso replied easily, "You don't only use your freedom to help yourself, you use it to help others, too."

She shook her head, nipping her eyes shut beneath her forearm, "Corso, don't put me on a pedestal. I'm nobody special. I'm just a girl with an unholy love of credits, who happens to be quick on the draw."

"I don't believe that, Captain," he responded, coming closer. She bent her knees to give him room, and he sat down on the other end of the couch, "You're not just in it for the money, however much you want people to think you are. Why is it so hard for you to admit you care about something?"

"Because that's one of the greatest weapons an enemy can use." she explained, "Admitting you care, is admitting a weakness that can be exploited. I can't afford to do that. I have enough eyes on me as it is."

"Then why do you admit it to me?"

"Because you're not an enemy, Corso." she replied, more easily than she expected, "I trust you."

"Is that why you flirted with me?"

"What?"

"Up until that first time you flirted with me at Dealer's Den, I hadn't seen you openly flirt with anyone. Guys'd always toss some comment at you, and you'd appear to take it in stride, but I could see that it got to you. It used to confuse me, the way compliments made you uncomfortable, but now that I know your past, it makes sense that you'd react that way. But you were the first to start this… _thing_ between us. I mean, sure, I thought you were gorgeous, but I didn't comment on it because I knew how much it bothered you to have guys shamelessly coming onto you. Why am I different?"

She grinned, "You mean other than the fact that I think you're so damn handsome I wanna die?"

He chuckled, "Well, thanks, but better looking men than me have tried—and failed—to get close to you."

"That's a matter of opinion." Her smile turned wry for a moment before she became serious again, sitting up with her arms hugging her knees to her chest, "But honestly? We spent every day together, and you were interested in getting to know me for who I was. Your farmboy innocence is hopelessly endearing. You don't expect me to be somebody I'm not, but at the same time, you make me wanna be a better person than I am. You respected my distance, and even though you saw my insecurities, you didn't exploit 'em. In fact, you tried to help me overcome them. You helped me find my humanity again, and you're one of the very few people who know where I came from, and how I got to be where I am. I trust you, Corso. I haven't trusted anyone the way I trust you ever since Fellin died."

They sat in silence, and he simply looked at her for a moment, their eyes meeting. The ease with which he placed his hand intimately on her knee surprised her, until he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. The kiss was sweet and barely-there, but as he went to pull away, she fisted her hand in his collar and pulled him back for an entirely different kind of kiss. It was feverish, and sent electricity firing into every nerve in her body as she pulled him back down onto the couch with her, arching into him, and he complied, groaning into her mouth, his hand sliding from her knee up to her thigh.

_This is a bad idea._ An inner voice chided, but she was helpless to listen. Thoughts of propriety were thrown out the window, and her earlier worries about breaking his heart were shamefully and selfishly forgotten.

Then, as if he'd heard the thought, Corso tore his face away from her, gathering himself with no shortage of effort as his eyes shut tight and he pushed himself up on his forearms, "I—wait, Ray."

The clouds in her head cleared at that, and she focused her attention on him as he sat back, and she pushed herself up on her elbows. She didn't say anything. She had known it was a mistake, but damned if it wasn't the best mistake she'd ever made. But she also knew that if they had taken it any further, they would likely have regretted it afterwards.

"I—I can't," he said, "Not like this. I wanna do this right." He looked at her, shaking his head with a shrug and his brows furrowed in uncertainty, "I mean, do we even know what we are?"

She sat up on the couch, swinging her bare feet down onto the cold floor, "I know we're mutually attracted to each other."

"But I don't want that to be the only reason we do this. I don't want it to be just a bit of fun on our downtime." Sighing, he balanced his elbows on his knees, lacing his fingers together, "I wanna be more than that, Captain. The whole shebang, but I'm not really sure how to go about this with a lady like you. Court you, I mean."

"_Court _me?" Raya arched her brow, "That makes it seem so… old-fashioned."

"Well, I'm an old-fashioned kinda guy, Captain." he said, a wry tilt to his lips, before turning serious again, "With my fiancée, I got permission from her father first, and we had a few chaperoned dates between our families."

Raya stared at him, her eyes wide with surprise, "Since when do you have a fiancée?"

"I never saw her, after my family died. My whole world blew up, and I just… ran." He explained, a solemn undertone in his voice, "I wish I'd let her down more gently, but…" he looked up, cool, ocean blue eyes meeting her own, "she wasn't even in the same galaxy as you."

She couldn't stop the slight smile at his words as silence descended on them both for a moment. She found, as much as she would have been furious if he'd broken up with her that way, she couldn't be angry for it. He was clearly remorseful of the way he'd treated his former fiancée, and it had brought him to her. She couldn't help wondering, however, if he would have been better off if he'd stayed with that woman. From what she'd heard, his ex seemed much more suited to the kind of farm life that suited Corso. Raya could never see herself on a farm, raising rontos and, stars forbid _kids_. A small cabin in the mountains of Alderaan, far away from the nobles with a private dock for her ship? She consider it. A farm, in the middle of nowhere with animals running around and nothing to do but shovel ronto dung? Never, in a million years.

She bit her lip, then watched as his lips turned upwards in a wry grin as he took her cheek in his hand, "I know that look, Captain. I'm here to stay, and I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be."

Feeling reassured, she felt herself smile, she looked away for a moment before the silence was finally broken when she took a deep breath and her smile turned sideways, "Alright, well, first of all, for the last time, ya gotta stop callin' me Captain." Raya replied, arching a brow upwards on her forehead, "You're my copilot, my partner, and my equal, and it's time you started embracing it."

A smirk pulled his lips to the side, and he shook his head, feigning shock, "What will the others think?"

"When have you ever known me to care about what others think? They can think whatever the hell they want. It won't change anything."

"Fair enough."

"Second," she continued, "No flowers. I'm a woman of practicality, you know."

He chuckled, "Flowers? _You?_ Nah, I value my life too much to attempt something like that."

"Good. And the third, and most important condition when it comes to _'courting' _the complicated, and elusive Captain Raya?"

He stared at her, an expectant brow lifted upwards on his forehead. The other brow quickly joined it in surprise when she grabbed his collar again and yanked his face down so it was inches from her own, "You'd better damn well kiss me, flyboy."

He certainly didn't argue with that.


	6. Frustration

**Questionable Cargo**  
><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

Frustration

Corso fought back a chuckle as he watched Raya slump backwards in her seat, balancing it on the back legs, a mug of... something in her hand, fighting to stay upright as she propped her booted feet on the table, ignoring the withering look it earned from a nearby server. She'd taken his advice, and had chosen to let her hair down for the night... literally. Her tumbling ebony locks fell haphazardly around her face in a messy yet lovely style that was just so undeniably _Raya_. Far from the prim and pinned-up styles of the nobility, where everything was in its place. He had to wonder how it didn't hurt having their hair pinned so tightly to their heads. Or maybe it did, and they just didn't acknowledge it. That seemed just as likely.

He'd never understand women.

He understood Raya, though. Or at least, he was beginning to. And he loved everything about her. She'd confused his every preconceived notion of women, and went against everything he'd ever been raised to believe about the fairer sex. She was beautiful, yes. Petite, certainly-she barely stood to his shoulders even when he slumped, and she looked so puny he wondered how a strong enough gust of wind didn't snap her in half. But she didn't need protecting, and was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She was emotionally strong, the strongest person he had ever known, and the quickest draw he'd ever seen. Her aim was impeccably sharp, and a blaster was as deadly in her hands as a vibrosword was in Bowdaar's. She was funny, quick, and clever, capable of lying her way out of any tight spot, and she wasn't afraid to make a fool of herself for a good laugh.

Here in the Alderaanian cantinas, there was a standard of "acceptable" behaviour that he knew full well his captain would never fit into, and she had no desire to fit into it. It may be a cantina, but it was still Alderaan, and nobles still lurked there the same as anyone else. Stars forbid they receive a _bad impression _of someone. As far as he was concerned, this _was _Raya restrained. He'd seen her dancing on tables and kissing bartenders simply for getting her a drink when she was drunk. He'd had to practically carry her back to the ship in his arms sometimes, and he could distinctly remember at least two nights when he'd done just that, her unable to walk for the amount of unprovoked laughter she'd been doing.

Then again, the night had only just begun, and she was already tipsy. It was their last day on the planet, and she was… less than happy with the day's events. Risha was installing the new hardware onto the ship, so they'd come to the cantina for some drinks in the meantime when it became apparent that the Captain was not going to be much help for all of her furious pacing.

After finally getting rid of that _creepy _head-in-a-jar, they'd been launched into an entirely new fiasco due to that slimy bastard Skavak leading them on a wild goose chase. She'd had to champion some stupid duel on behalf of that slippery noble Lenn and deal with his shameless flirting once again, and to top it all off, they'd lost Skavak._ Again. _They'd gotten bonuses added to their payment for some extra work along the way. Though, with the amount of exhaustion creeping up on them, Corso was beginning to wonder if it was even worth it.

Skavak aside, Raya had been frustrated with the nobility, anyway, and made uneasy by the way Lenn had looked at her like a piece of meat after she'd won the duel with Xim, judging by the tightness of her shoulders, and Corso noticed his hand lingered a little too long when he handed her her payment, thanking her profusely for her services. "I had no idea you could be so violent." The man had said, "So beautiful. So _dangerous_." Corso's jealous rage was slightly tempered only by the firm rejection he could see in her rolling eyes when she looked at Lenn.

The man was harmless, and she knew it, but it didn't make her any less uncomfortable with the slimy noble's advances, and although she was entirely professional, and didn't say as much, she'd made it no secret that she was glad to be done with him.

"Y'know," she muttered, looking down into her mug and swirling the cup for a moment before glancing around at the lingering patrons and scowling at something he couldn't see, "Alderaan'd be an alright place if there weren't any nobles here."

"It does have a nice view," he agreed, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, "If you can get far enough away from them without flying off the planet." He shrugged, "They're not _all _bad, though. Are they?"

She just leveled a stare at him, and he took the hint.

"Fair enough. I gotta say, though, Ray: the nobles are good for a laugh sometimes."

Her mouth cracked into a grin, dimpling her right cheek as she melodramatically threw the hand holding the mug outwards from her body, liquid spilling over the sides to splatter on the floor, "Excuse me, peasant!" She exclaimed to no one, her voice deepening, and taking on an exaggerated noble accent, "I thought I had made it clear that my wine was to be made from only the _freshest _of fresh grapes from the vineyard oases of Tatooine, aged _exactly_ one-hundred seventeen years and served to me in a golden chalice! _This _is _obviously _aged one-hundred _sixteen_ years, and this glass has a spot on it! I demand satisfaction, peasant!"

"But my Lord!" Corso replied, leaning forward again with a chuckle, setting his own drink down and drawing her attention back to him as he took part in her impromptu performance, "If the wine is aged, the grapes are no longer fresh! And besides, there're no oases on Tatoo-"

"_Silence_, peasant!" She bellowed, cutting him off as he erupted into full-on guffaws, "You _dare _interrupt Lord Stick-up-his-Ass?" She shot upwards from her seat, her arms going out to steady herself as her chair wobbled back to its normal four-legged position, "I could have you arrested! _Hanged_! I could-WOAH."

Her footing failed her as she slipped on something beneath the table, and Corso could only just get himself up from his chair before she found her behind promptly on the floor. Judging by her peals of unending laughter, she didn't seem to care all that much, and Corso knew he was correct in his earlier assessment of how the night would end up with him carrying her back to the ship. She'd barely even had anything to drink! He'd seen her down at least three mugs before she was even so much as _tipsy,_ but now she was entirely drunk after a single cup. Biting his lip to hold in his laughter as she choked out between giggles, "I slipped on my jacket!" he rounded the table and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. She (more than a little purposefully, he noticed—she was worlds less discreet when she was drunk) stumbled into him when she got upright again, her hands on his chest and staring up at him from beneath her lashes as his arms closed around her to steady her while she brought her laughter under control. Then, just to hold her. Because he wanted to hold her as much as she wanted to be held.

He loved this woman. _Stars_, he loved her. He would give up every dream he'd ever had just to be with her. Not that he thought she would let him, but he didn't have to tell her that.

Raya's mouth broke into a brilliant smile as she met his eyes, and she pushed herself up on her toes to press a too-chaste kiss against his lips before flouncing out of his grasp. Pulling the long brown jacket she'd bought from a vender outside of Anchorhead on Tatooine from her shoulders to reveal the sleeveless shirt beneath, she scowled at the offending garment, tossing it over her chair before making a beeline for the dance floor, all swaying hips and tight pants. He watched as she visibly took pains to ensure one foot was placed in front of the other, and concluded that he'd better get out there after her to make sure she didn't fall on her face.

Shaking his head, he took a moment to appreciate the view before he bent down to pick up her empty mug from the floor and sniffed it, grimacing at the smell. _What __**is **__this stuff?_ He would have to ask her when he got the chance, so he could _never _let her drink it again. He was _not _looking forward to dealing with her in the morning.

For now, he thought as he made his way out to join her on the dance floor, he would just enjoy seeing and spending time with his Captain, the most carefree and relaxed he had ever seen her.

Two hours later, as he'd predicted, he was cradling her to his chest and making his way out of the cantina, having stayed (mostly) sober for this very reason. Couldn't have _him _falling over while he was carrying his captain. She might laugh, but the bumps and bruises she'd suffer in the morning would be more than enough to ensure her displeasure when she was sober again.

Looking down at her, giggling relentlessly with her face buried into his chest, he could only shake his head and laugh. She just looked so _cute_ and childlike, oddly enough. Though he knew her well enough to know, childlike was something she most definitely was _not_. He was struck, as he always was when he carried her, by just how tiny she was in his arms, and she was so _light_. Almost fragile. Even though he knew it was ridiculous, he wondered how she didn't crack if he held her too tightly.

She was strong. She had to be. It was reflected in her eyes, in the way she made constant, solid eye contact with her enemies, refusing to look away and betray her emotions. It was reflected in the way she carried herself with that wounded confidence, and assuredness of herself despite her physical and emotional scars, and the insecurity those scars presented in her. She'd been through her own version of hell, and had come out on top of it with purpose, and the freedom to explore the galaxy.

"Corso," she mumbled, her laughter fading and as he looked down, he noticed her eyelids were heavily fighting off sleep.

"Yeah?"

"D'you think you could live on Alderaan?" She slurred, "I mean, f'ya getchaself a place far enough away from the nobles so's you don't even know they're there? Place in the mountains, with a view."

Smiling to himself at her drunken lack of proper Basic, he nodded his head, "Yeah, I think I could. I could always come down here to laugh at the nobility if I wanted a good source of entertainment. Maybe imagine you doin' an impression of one of 'em if I really wanna get rollin'."

She breathed a chuckle, a tired smirk pulling her lips to the side, "You liked that, didja?"

"'Specially that end part." He joked, "Real smooth."

Raya slapped him halfheartedly in the chest, "I'm still your captain, y'know."

"How 'bout you?" He asked after a moment, looking down at her, "Could you see yourself living here?"

He felt her shoulders lift loosely in a shrug, "Maybe, after I find my sister, if I had a good enough reason to stay." Her head lifted suddenly, "I'm keepin' the _Legacy _though. I don't care if I gotta build my own landing platform; I ain't givin' her up, ever."

Corso looked up, and resisted the urge to look down at her again, fighting back the knowing smile playing at his lips, "Why're you tellin' me, Captain? You almost sound like you're bargaining with… someone."

"I… myself." She stammered, turning her face into his chest again, "I'm bargaining with myself."

"You sure?" He asked her, "'Cause I'm kinda gettin' the feelin' that you might be thinkin' about… dare I say _settling _with someone?" He didn't want to say himself, but he couldn't deny he was thinking about it. He couldn't imagine spending his life with anyone else.

"I… " she trailed off.

"Well," he interrupted with a shrug as they approached the ramp to the _Dace Legacy_, looking down at her, and wishing his hand was free so he could place a finger under her chin and coax her gaze up to him. As it was, his hands were holding her up, and her gaze was focused on his chest when he said, "that doesn't sound like a bargain that's too hard to make. If it were me, I'd take it, without a second thought."

Even in her inebriated state, she seemed to take his meaning, because she looked up at him, her blue eyes wide with curiosity. They stepped into the airlock, and the memory of the kiss they'd shared in this very spot rose unbidden in his mind. The look of utter surprise on her face when he'd approached her that day was burned into his mind. He'd had her at a loss for words, and she had looked so beautiful, so utterly shocked at him, that he found himself kissing her without any real memory of how it started.

Looking down at her now, he saw the barest hint of a smile hidden on her lips before she stretched slightly in his arms, and yawned, "M'tired."

"I know," he said as the airlock opened again, ignoring the blood flowing very much in the downward direction of his body at the sight of her stretching in his arms, arching her back against him, and making his way to her quarters, clenching his jaw.

_Stay focused, stay focused, stay focused._

Corso set her down on the bed, pulled off her boots and set them on the floor as she did the same with her gloves, and stepped back, not trusting himself to remain gentlemanly in her room, with her so… indisposed. The way she was lying there, looking up at him through half-lidded eyes, and her ebony waves splayed out on the pillow with a sultry smile curling her lips certainly wasn't helping, and it only got worse when she grabbed his hand as he turned to leave, "You're not gonna stay?"

The way she pouted at him very nearly did him in, but he would stay strong, damn it!

He relented a little when she tugged him closer by the hand, and lowered himself to his knees so he was eye-level with her, lifting his hand to her cheek, "Oh, believe me when I say I want to. But I want this to be special. Somethin' that we'll remember, and with the way this night's been going, I seriously doubt you'll remember much of this in the mornin'."

"Not even a goodnight kiss, then?"

"That," he mused, nodding as he leaned closer, "I think I can manage."

Her pout turned into a devious smile, and he knew then that she was _not _going to let him walk away from her for the night without a fight. She placed a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down to her for a kiss that, had he been standing, would have made him weak in the knees. He caught scent of the strong alcohol she'd been drinking, mingled with the intensity of her tongue delving into his mouth, and he was powerless to stop her. It was intoxicating, and he couldn't stop himself from reciprocating with his own as he felt her teeth graze his bottom lip, nipping it just hard enough to make him hiss.

Then, she pulled away, her eyes wide and staring into his own, daring him to leave. The clouds cleared from his head, and he remembered where he was; what their circumstances were. Damn it, he had a plan! He would not give in, no matter how much his lower body protested.

Allowing a smile to tug on the side of his mouth, he reined in his libido, pushed himself to his feet, and chose not to be affected by the indignant pout on Raya's face when he turned and left her room, feeling a rush of satisfaction with himself for resisting her drunken charms, "G'night, Captain."

Her voice came sailing through the air just before the door slid shut, separating him from her, "You dunno what you're missin'!"

"Yeah, Ray. I do." He said to himself, letting out a heavy sigh of frustration, "I really, really do."


	7. A Change of Plan

_Author's Note:_

Thanks so much for the favs and comments. You guys are the best. :)

-BB

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Seven**

A Change of Plan

"Caaaaaaaptain."

A familiar female voice chased her dreams away, and Raya wanted to kill whoever it was that had _dared _disturb her slumber. Especially when she woke to animals stampeding across her skull. She groaned, and rolled over without opening her eyes, digging her head underneath her pillow, "Who invited the banthas?"

"You did," Risha's voice replied, stabbing daggers into her temples as she burrowed further into the bed, "when you decided that whatever you drank last night was a good idea."

"Ugh," she peeled her tongue from a palate that felt like sandpaper, and ran it across her teeth, shuddering in disgust when they felt exactly the same, "What _did _I drink last night?"

"I don't know, but I will tell you that I can smell your breath from over here."

Wheezing out a sigh, Raya dragged herself into a sitting position, gingerly swinging her bare feet over the side of the bed, realizing she was still in her clothes from the night before, with no memory of how she got back to the ship. She looked in Risha's general direction, opening her eyes to slits, "I remember being at the cantina with Corso. How'd I get back?"

"How do you think?" The older woman responded, "He carried you back, passed-out in his arms after one drink."

"One drink?" Raya asked in disbelief, massaging her temples with a thumb and forefinger, "Since when am I such a lightweight?"

"Whatever it was you drank, it was damn strong. Corso said he could still taste it when he woke up."

"If he had the same thing, I'm surprised he's out and about."

The woman looked at her, smiling dubiously, "I didn't say he drank it."

Oh. _**Oh. **_With unmistakable clarity, the memory of their kiss the night before crashed into her brain like a freight train. Well, no wonder he could still taste it, judging by the way she'd been shoving her tongue down his throat. Her head sank into her hands and she groaned, "He told you?"

"You kidding? Corso isn't the type of guy who spreads that stuff around." She said, "I ran into him after installing the hyper drive. He was just leaving your room and it was written all over his face."

"Well," Raya mumbled, rubbing her hands over her face, "This is going to be an awkward morning."

"Morning?" Risha laughed incredulously, "It's after midday."

"What?" She shot up out of bed, immediately dizzy with the exertion as the blood rushed to her head. Still, she powered herself over to her dresser to get a clean set of clothing, her hand massaging her skull, "We should've been left hours ago!"

"Relax, Captain. You have a crew for that. I already knew where to go, and Corso's flying the ship. He thought it'd be better if we let you rest." Risha explained calmly, "You certainly don't call him flyboy for nothing. As annoying as he can be, the kid's a natural behind the controls."

She let that sink in. She could relax. She wasn't flying solo anymore; she had a crew to help her out now. A mechanic. A copilot. She could take a break, and things would still get done. Risha was right; Corso was a natural pilot, and a hell of a fast learner. She trusted him to fly her ship without too much trouble. It was nice to know she didn't have to do _everything_ anymore, especially considering she had much more on her plate than she'd been expecting from something that had started out as a simple, routine weapons gig.

Raya let out a sigh, sitting back down on the bed with her elbows balanced on her knees and her throbbing head in her hands. Risha came and sat down on the bed beside her, "We have one last delivery left to make on Nar Shaddaa, so take your time getting up. It'll be another few hours before we—"

Her holocom bleeped, and Raya winced at the pain the ringing caused to throb in her skull as the woman pulled it out and flipped it on.

"Juran?" Risha's voice seemed surprised when she looked at the togruta on the other end of the call, "I haven't seen you in forever. I'd love to catch up, but this isn't the best time."

"Someone took Audelia." Raya's hangover was, with some effort, pushed to the back of her mind by the urgency in the man's tone. Something was very wrong, "Said I'd get her back in pieces if you don't come. Pieces! You have to help me!"

Raya was lacking context, which seemed to be the norm when dealing with Risha, "This guy a friend of yours?"

"I've known him and his wife since we were kids." She replied, before turning back to the holo, "Juran, I won't let anything happen to you, or Audila. Calm down and start over."

"When I came home from work, Audila was gone! There was a man waiting for me. He said that unless you want to be responsible for Audila's death, you'll meet him at an old Czerka mining complex in the Cheeny Rift. I don't understand, Risha. Why is this happening?"

"Yeah, Risha," Raya added, her arms crossing over her chest, "Why _is _this happening?"

"It's a trap, obviously." She responded, still staying conveniently vague, "But my odds of surviving and getting Audila back alive are a lot better if you help me spring it."

"Hope you have a plan." Raya said, getting up again and making her way over to her dresser, hangover momentarily forgotten as adrenaline began to kick in.

"Juran, stay on this holo frequency. " Risha explained, "Let me get in touch with some contacts. We have to play this smart."

After Risha cut the call, Raya keyed the intercom to the cockpit, "Corso,"

"Hey, Captain," He replied after a moment, "Sorry I didn't wake you. Thought you could use the rest. How you feelin'?"

"Been better," she said, "I need you to set a course for Tatooine."

"Again? Thought you hated that dust ball." He paused for a moment, "Everything alright?"

"Just do it," she demanded, "Then, grab Bowdaar and meet me in the briefing room. There's been a change of plan."

"Right away, Captain."

Grabbing a set of clean clothes, she stopped and turned back to Risha on her way to the 'fresher, "Hey, Rish."

The woman faced her again, half-way out the door, looking worried, "Yes?"

"You're gonna explain this to me, someday. Doesn't have to be today. But someday."

Risha tightened her jaw and walked away without replying.


	8. Rescue

_Author's Note: _

To all my reviewers: I'm sorry I haven't been responding to the reviews I've gotten recently. There's no excuse for it, really. I'm just lazy. But rest assured, those reviews do mean the world to me, and I love each and every one of them. I'm trying to motivate myself to really get cracking on this story, because in addition to my other 3 in-progress stories, I'm also writing another companion piece to post when I get far enough into this one. You're not getting any details on that yet, though. :P

To the anon: I'm so happy you like the story! I too, would have preferred KOTOR 3, but what can ya do? Gonna have to get a job at BioWare to let them know what the fans really want. :P Thanks for your review. :)

A HUGE Thank You goes out to all my readers/reviewers/fav-ers/lurkers, etc. I would be nowhere without you guys. :)

- BB

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Eight:** _Rescue_

Audila's rescue went thoroughly according to plan, despite Corso's misgivings about Risha being used as the bait. The togruta couple's cold rejection, however, Raya was not expecting. Risha had known these people since they were children, she had said, and even though she put on a tough front, Raya could see the hurt in the woman's eyes as Audila and Juran walked away from her, vowing never to see her again. These people had known her for years, and by the sound of it, shared many memories together. Risha had said she would never let anything bad happen to Audila, and Raya believed at least that much.

Raya could understand their situation, somewhat. Audila had been threatened, captured and kept prisoner for days, fearful for her life just for knowing Risha. They hadn't even spoken in years, it seemed, by the way Risha had been talking with Juran on the ship. This was why she was always so hesitant to admit she cared about people. This exact reason. They had hunted down Risha's childhood friends, and used them to get to Risha. They were put in danger just for having associated with her. And while it hadn't been Risha's intention to put them in danger, it had cost her their trust, and their friendship. Raya had to admit she felt for the woman, even if she wasn't quite willing to trust her just yet, either.

It was one of the things that came with their line of work, and the reason she had chosen to fly solo for so many years. You made enemies-powerful enemies, who would stop at nothing to get what they want. You had to distance yourself from those you cared about, lest they be used against you. That was the smart thing to do, the _right_ thing to do. The thing is, it's not the _easy_ thing to do. Humans (and humanoids) are social creatures that crave meaningful interaction. The life of a smuggler is exciting, yes, but nobody ever said it wouldn't be lonely. Fellin Dace was the perfect example. He was well-known in the smuggling ring, and had been wildly successful. But he'd lost everyone he cared about in the process, and she'd come to understand that that was why he'd been so reluctant to take her under his wing. She could see, however, that in the years he had spent as her mentor and her friend, he enjoyed her company. There were many things she had never known about him, and would never know, but he had never given her a reason to mistrust him, and he had done nothing but help her in the years that she had known him. He didn't keep these things from her because he didn't trust her. He kept them from her because he'd wanted to protect her, and for his sake, she'd refrained from digging into his past now that he was gone. He was a good man, and in spite of whatever he had done in the past, whatever he had been hiding from her, she loved him as if he were her father. He'd said time and time again that he would drop her off on the nearest planet as soon as she was capable of her own solo career, but he never did actually commit to it. He had just wanted to protect her, to keep her safe from this life. But it was the life she'd wanted. The one she had begged him to teach her, and when it came down to it, he hadn't argued with her about it… much. He never did tell her not to get attached to someone-possibly because he hadn't been immune to that, himself-but she knew that it was what she had to do; or at least _try _to do.

She thought, then, about Corso. It would be so _easy_ to fall in love with him. To let him love her. But what if someone did with him, what these assassins had done with Audila and Juran? Worse, what if they _killed _him just to crush her? She couldn't imagine the anguish losing him would cause her. And what if he fell for her, and she died tomorrow? What if she was shot in the head by a stray bolt, or fried by some Sith's lightning? She didn't fear death-you couldn't, not with a job like hers-but she was afraid of losing Corso. Of leaving him behind.

_You're overthinking. _She chided herself, _People die, Ray. Whether you're a smuggler or a shut-in, you could get shot in the head by a blaster, or you could trip over your own feet and break your neck. You can't predict what's going to happen tomorrow._

_But I don't want him to let him fall in love with me and then die tomorrow, leaving him and his love behind. I can't do that to him. I can't let him fall for me._

_He already has, you idiot. _The inner voice argued again, and it was true. He may not have said as much, but she could see it in his eyes. The love. Leaving him behind now wouldn't make a difference, even if she had given in to him.

"Captain?"

She looked up to meet those very same blue eyes that said _I love you_ every time she met them with her own, "Yeah."

"You ladies ready to go?"

She looked at Risha, whose jaw was clenched, and it looked to Raya as if she was on the verge of tears. Honestly, Raya couldn't blame her.

"Let's get out of here." Risha muttered, her voice sounding completely normal, despite the emotion Raya was absolutely certain she had to be feeling.

Raya simply nodded, and they made their way back to the ship.

Upon their return, Risha was all business, telling them to set a course to Nar Shaddaa right away, so they could make the last delivery. Raya wanted to ask if she wished to talk about what happened, but thought better of it. Risha wouldn't tell her anything anyway, and if it had been her, Raya wouldn't be spilling her guts to the first person who asked either, even if it was her captain.

Raya didn't trust the woman all that much, but that didn't mean she hated her, and the well-being of her crew affected how well the ship ran. Not that Risha was the type to allow this to affect her work, but Raya wasn't a heartless captain who expected her crew to stew on their problems and never speak about them. Raya could see that, although the woman didn't talk about herself much, she had one _hell _of a past. She held the same street smarts that had helped Raya survive during her childhood in poverty. Perhaps they had more in common than she thought.

That was beside the point, however, Raya mused as she sat in silence, her chin mounted in her hands with her elbows balanced on the table in the lounge. Her eyes were focused on the far wall, but her mind was far away. Risha's secrecy was becoming an issue, she realized. If her crew was going to be put in danger because of something Risha wasn't telling them, Raya had to know what it was. She hadn't gotten to where she was by being stupid and rushing blindly into danger without any idea of what she was getting into. Fellin had taught her better than that. If Risha was going to be here, she needed to come clean about whatever it was she was hiding. Hell, what could she possibly have been hiding? It wasn't like Raya would have judged her. She came from the streets of Coruscant to embrace the life of the lawless smuggler, only to be joined by a wookiee ex-slave, and a young Mantellian man with an unhealthy attachment to his weapons and a skewed perception of women.

They were just a collection of outlaws and misfits trying to find a place in the galaxy—what right did they have to judge Risha for any secrets she might be keeping from them when all she'd ever done was help them? Raya was fine with Risha's secrets, but she wasn't flying solo anymore—she had a crew under her care, now. When those secrets ended up putting both herself and her crew in danger, that was where she drew the line. It was time for Risha to come clean—not because the girl wasn't entitled to keep secrets, but because Raya deserved to know what she was getting her crew and her ship into by associating with her. It was all an exercise in trust, now—for both parties. If Risha couldn't comply, then she couldn't stay on the ship. It was as simple as that.

"There you are."

Raya glanced up to see Corso angling into the room. She smiled at him as he sat at the table across from her, "Hey, Corso."

"Hey, Captain." He paused for a moment, "Everything alright?"

She nodded, "Just thinking, is all. Everything's been so crazy these last couple of days that I never got to thank you for getting me home okay the other night. Sorry if I embarrassed you."

He rose from his seat and held out a hand to her, "C'mere."

She complied, and they made their way over to the couch. He sat upright on the end and she settled against his chest as his arms wrapped around her.

"You got nothin' to worry about, Ray." He replied, "You're adorable when you're drunk. Always laughin' and flirtin' with me. If you embarrass anyone, it'd probably be yourself, if you were sober enough to realize it."

She scoffed, "I got past that a long time ago when I realized it was easier to laugh at myself than to be embarrassed." Her shoulders lifted in a shrug, "More fun, too."

"That's what I like about you, Captain. You don't sweat the small stuff."

"Why bother with the small stuff, when I have so much big stuff to worry about?" She responded, her face turning serious while her hand lifted to her forehead, "What started out as a routine weapons gig turned into that sneaky bastard Skavak stealing my ship, and that was only the beginning of this whole mess. Now I'm on some wild goose chase looking for a treasure that may or may not exist, sent reeling every step of the way by the same guy who stole my ship, and hunted by bounty hunters from a guy nicknamed "The Butcher" for the weapons I couldn't deliver thanks to that same guy stealing my ship. Meanwhile, the Republic keeps asking me for help, and I've done more for them as an outlaw than their soldiers ever did. Everything's gotten so damn complicated."

"If you could go back to the beginning," Corso asked after a moment, "Would you change anything?"

"Oh, I'd change lots of things. Starting with the second I decided to leave Skavak alone with my ship." She replied.

"What about before? I know your life was a lot easier when you were flying solo—and probably still would be if you'd been solo today."

"You mean when I met you?" She looked up at him for a moment, her brows furrowed as her eyes took on a faraway haze before she looked away again, "Flying solo is definitely easier—not to mention safer. But it's also a lot lonelier. I'm not gonna pretend that didn't bother me, or that I didn't seek out comfort from time to time just to blow off steam. When I first met you, I thought you were some farmboy hick, still wet behind the ears and thirsting for adventure with no idea what it was really like out there in the galaxy. Certainly not someone I wanted with me on my ship. But later that day, I lost everything. I lost my ship, I lost my cargo, and I lost my way of life, and I had no idea if I was gonna be able to get it all back. I had no one else to turn to; no one to trust. But then you were there, siding with me, telling me we wouldn't stop until we found Skavak and got everything back. I later learned that you were not just a farmboy. You were a soldier, and a fiancé, with an abnormal attachment to anything that remotely resembles a blaster… and you knew what it was like to lose everything you ever cared about. In that way, we were similar. In spite of everything I had just lost, I'd gained a friend, a partner… something more. I'm not a big believer in fate, Corso, but if I had the chance to go back and change one thing, it certainly wouldn't be the moment I met you."

And it was at that moment, sitting on the couch in the _Legacy_'s lounge with Corso's arms securely around her as she spilled her guts, she realized she loved him. How could she not? He was the perfect gentleman, and treated her with nothing but the utmost respect. And although his occasionally misogynistic refusal to harm even the most villainous of women drove her absolutely insane at times, he'd never expected anything of her, never tried to change her. He helped her deal with her insecurities, accepted her scars, and had made her feel _human _again. But in spite of all this, the revelation filled her with such panic that she found she couldn't breathe. She had slipped off the edge and was falling into madness, and in the face of such panic, she shot upright, her body drawn tighter than a Wookiee bowcaster, and her heart thrumming in her chest.

Corso's hand was suddenly on her back as he sat up, concerned, "Ray? What's wrong?"

"I..." She stammered, her thoughts scattering about her brain at a hundred miles a second, until one word rose above the cacophony: _Escape. _"Uh… I have to go."

"Ray?" He protested, reaching for her as she leapt to her feet and fled the room, "Wait! I—"

But she left him there alone, standing in the lounge with one arm outstretched, dumbfounded.


	9. Advice

_Author's Note:_

Howdy folks! Man, I've missed writing. The last few weeks have been pretty chaotic. I moved back across the country again, moved into a new apartment, made a road trip across my province two weekends in a row, then started school again. Then, Post-Tropical Storm Leslie hit my city, and I lost power for 2 days. That was fun.

Lots of changes, but I'm happy to be back in my home province again for the year. Spending summers across the country is nice, but it can't compare to home.

I would like to say I'll have more time for writing now, considering I only have classes 3 days of the week, but one of the things about English majors is that we spend a _lot _of time reading outside of class. It's likely that I'll spend more time writing now that things have calmed down, but you never know. It depends on the workload, really.

Anyway, here's chapter 9! I would like to offer a huge thank you to my followers/lurkers/fav-ers/reviewers, etc etc. I love you all!

Also, special thanks to **Laryn Chillbreeze **for her encouraging and dedicated reviews. Be sure to check out her f!smug origin story, "How I Became a Smug... Businesswoman". It's definitely worth the read, and far short of the reviews and love it deserves. :)

- BB

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>Chapter 9: **_Advice_

Raya hadn't anticipated ending up in the engine room with Risha. Yet, here she was. _Oh well. _All the more convenient to have that "chat" she'd been meaning to have with the mechanic. The older woman was standing over the control panel, most likely aware of the captain's presence, given the way she'd stumbled into the room in a panic.

"Captain." The woman said, glancing back at her over her shoulder with a questioning eyebrow cocked upwards on her forehead. Risha clearly wasn't expecting her, and why would she? Raya didn't make a habit of blasting into the engine room unannounced, certainly not with the newfound animosity and mistrust she felt towards the woman after the fiasco on Tatooine.

Raya took a moment to calm herself, running a hand through her hair and catching her breath, leaning upon the wall with a sigh, "Risha."

"Is... everything alright, Captain?"

"Yeah!" She responded, all too enthusiastically, "I'm good! I'm great! Everything's fine. Yup!"

_Nice, Ray. _She thought, internally berating herself. _She'll never suspect a thing. What am I even **doing** here?_

She contemplated making another (more believable) excuse and running for a moment, but decided that the damage to her pride was already done. She may as well stay and get that _chat _over with. If nothing else, it would help to recover some of her dignity.

Risha just stared at her for a moment, unconvinced, "Captain, you look pretty much exactly how I imagined you would when Corso told you he loved you: absolutely terrified."

She stared at her in shock for a moment. Her relationship with Corso was anything but secret, but she hadn't anticipated Risha actually caring about it enough to wonder what Raya's reaction would be when he finally told her what the rest of the crew (including Raya herself) already knew. "What? No! Everything's good! Great! I'm fine. He's fine. We're all fine!"

"You know, for a person who's capable of lying her way out of practically any on-the-job situation, you certainly have a hard time hiding things from your crewmates." Unimpressed, the mechanic reached back behind her, hit a button on the control panel, and the door to the engine room slid shut behind Raya. Leveling her gaze on the captain, Risha's arms crossed over her chest as she leaned casually back on the control panel, "Talk."

Trying to relax, Raya shrugged her shoulders, willing her heart to stop pounding in her chest, "I dunno what you want me to say, Rish."

_Tell her to spill her guts. Better than spilling your own, and that _is _why you came in here, right? Of course it is. Tell her. **Tell. Her.**_

The thoughts were there, but her mouth wasn't listening, because she indelicately stammered, "He's not—I'm not—He didn't... Wait, shouldn't I be making sure _you're _okay?"

Risha rolled her eyes, turning back to the control panel, "Whatever, Captain. You came running in here – I didn't ask you to come."

Raya's shoulders sank as she blew out her cheeks in a sigh, "Yeah, I know. Sorry, Rish. I just... panicked is all."

"No kidding. Corso told you he loved you, didn't he?"

Finally, Raya decided that she might as well start trusting _someone_, and Risha was offering to listen. She would bring up the woman's secrets afterwards.

"No . Though he doesn't exactly make an effort to hide it." She shook her head, sighing heavily.

Risha shrugged, "Then what's the problem?"

_Don't say it. Don't make it real._

Once again, her mouth didn't listen to the logic and reason her brain was shooting at it, because she replied, "I realized that I love him back."

Stars, saying it aloud gave it a finality that could no longer be denied. _It's out there now, Ray. Might as well come to terms with it. _That didn't make it any less terrifying, which was made clear by the way she began to pace fitfully across the room.

Risha looked at her, not an ounce of judgement or surprise in her eyes, as if she completely understood, and had even been expecting it, "And you panicked because this is the closest you've ever allowed anyone to get, and it's beyond your experience. You've spent so long distancing yourself from others that you're terrified of attachment."

"I... what?" Raya's eyebrow lifted in confusion.

"You heard me." Risha said, pressing on with cold hard truths about Raya that were obvious to everyone but herself, "You've lost everyone you've ever cared about, and you're scared you'll lose him too."

"Of course."

"Because you love him, and you can't imagine not having him in your life."

After a moment of stunned realization, Raya's hands raised to her face and she groaned, "Stars, Rish, I can't possibly be that pathetic, can I?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Risha responded incredulously.

"No, don't answer that. I just... need some time." Raya muttered through her hands, "Time to come to terms with the realization. This is all new to me. I guess I just don't wanna screw it up."

"Then you'd better tell Corso that, before he starts to think you're mad at him for some reason."

"Mad?" She looked up, "Why would he think I'm mad at him?"

"Well, the way I understand it, in the middle of what had to have been a nice moment, you spontaneously decided to run off in terror for some unknown reason." Risha explained, "What is he supposed to think?"

"I... oh." _Damn it, Ray. Fellin did **not **teach you to be this **clueless**!_

Risha couldn't stop her chuckle, "Wow, Captain. This really is new to you, isn't it?"

"Well, have you ever been in my position?"

"No, I can't say that I have, or that I ever want to be."

"Consider yourself lucky, then." Raya grumbled, "Because this is _torture._"

Raya noticed the ghost of a smile cross the mechanic's face before the woman prodded her, "So what are you going to do now?"

She sighed, "I dunno. I guess I should go talk to Corso, but I'm dreading just the thought of it."

"Well, do you want to be with him?"

"Of course I do," Raya responded without any hesitation whatsoever, and that in itself was surprising.

"Then what's holding you back?"

"I..." she trailed off with a shake of her head, "I've never really been in a serious relationship. I spent my childhood on the streets, then I was working as a servant to a horrible doctor who nearly killed me, and then I ended up in the sky. I've never really had the opportunity to develop a serious relationship and with jobs like ours, it's not exactly safe to form attachments. My relationship with Corso was pretty much an accident."

"Well, do you regret it?"

"No!"

"Then what's the problem?" Risha shrugged, "You love him. He loves you. It doesn't mean you're married, or anything. Just take it one step at a time."

There was no denying the relief that Risha's simple logic sent washing over her, and with every word the mechanic spoke, Raya's heart and mind began to calm down enough for common sense to return. She was right. There was no need to rush things. She loved Corso Riggs. There was no mistaking it anymore. But it didn't have to be a death sentence; it was just another step in their relationship.

_I have to find Corso._

Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than Corso's arms around her, but when she leapt up to find him, the ship jolted out of hyperspeed, and C2's voice came over the intercom system, "It appears we've arrived at our destination, Master! Shall I prepare your travel supplies?"

Biting back a slew of angry curses, Raya sighed heavily through her nose, "One of these days, I'm gonna turn that droid into scrap metal."

"Oh, I hope I'm there to see it." Risha said, and Raya was reminded of the conversation she had originally planned to have with the woman, but she couldn't exactly kick her to the curb after the advice she had just given her. The mechanic had been the one to tell her about Nok Drayen's treasure in the first place, and had stayed with them the entire time they'd been searching for it. The least Raya could do was let her stay long enough to finish it.

_Well, nothing for it now,_ Raya surmised, _Just have to trust her and hope for the best, I guess._

She keyed the intercom, "Yeah, prep the supplies, See-Two. Enough for three," she added when she noticed Risha pulling her sniper rifle off the wall and inspecting it closely, "Looks like Risha's coming along."

"Right away, Master. Do be careful out there; I worry fretfully when you're away! Whatever would I do if you didn't return? Oh, I can't bear to thi—"

"Shut up, See-Two."

"Shutting up, Master."


	10. Fortune Favours the Downright Crazy

_Author's Note:_

As always, a huge thanks goes out to those who read/fav/review/follow, etc. You're the best, and I'm so glad you're sticking around. We're approaching the end of act 1, and then the story _really _gets fun.

Follow me on twitter: youngtivvy  
>And on tumblr: minaraya<p>

Alternatively, the link to my tumblr is in my Author Profile. You can click that link, and then there's a link to my twitter on the left sidebar of my tumblr blog.

Ugh, the way FFnet manages links is such a pain.

Enjoy,

- BB

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter 10: **_Fortune Favours the Downright Crazy_

Nar Shaddaa was pretty much just as Raya remembered it, she mused to herself as she and Corso made their way to the rendezvous point to meet Risha, the man in carbonite trailing on a hover cart behind them. Of all the deliveries she'd been tasked to make, this was a very good candidate for the most bizarre. What could anyone possibly want with a man frozen in carbonite?

Looking over at Corso, she decided it was probably better for her _not _to know, and mentally shrugged it off as they stepped inside what appeared to be a medical facility, where Risha stood with a selkath, awaiting their arrival.

Curious, Raya arched an eyebrow as they entered, hitting a few keys on a datapad to move the hovercart over to Risha's position, where it was mounted upright on a stand.

"This is a big moment, Captain." The older woman said, staring at the slab of carbonite without looking back at her, "Bigger than you probably realize. I've waited ten years for it."

Suspicion caused Raya's heart to kick up within her chest, and she narrowed her eyes at her mechanic's back, thinking not for the first time that the woman was keeping something big from her, "Care to explain what's going on now, Risha?"

She didn't reply, and the Captain rolled her eyes, glancing over at Corso, who only shrugged as Risha stepped to the side and spoke to the selkath instead, "Doctor Chelah, let's introduce the Captain to the man in carbonite. Begin the procedure."

Looking back at her over his shoulder, Chelah mumbled his reply in his native tongue, "_Initiating carbon thawing and resuscitation. You may wish to shield your eyes."_

There was a moment in which nothing happened. But in a matter of seconds, a low hissing sound began to erupt from the carbonite, which now glowed red, brighter and brighter until it erupted into a flash too bright for Raya to look at without taking the doctor's advice and shielding her eyes.

When she looked back, there was a man kneeling on all fours on the floor in exhaustion, his limbs spasming violently with shivers, his grey hair and skin slick with sweat as Risha stooped to help him to his feet.

"_Vital signs are normal." _The doctor explained, "_He is regaining consciousness._"

As he rose to their height, Raya got a better look. He was an older man with dark tanned skin despite who knows how many years spent frozen in carbonite, the wrinkles around his brown eyes and mouth placing him in about his sixties. A grey mustache curled downward around the edges of his mouth, and several cybernetics had been affixed to his face and much of his body that she could see.

However long he'd been stuck in that slab of rock, he still managed to pull himself together fairly quickly as he spoke weakly, and with an accent Raya couldn't place, "How long... has it been?"

"Ten years." Risha replied, her voice uncharacteristically soft, "I'm sorry it took so long, but I finally have everything you told me to find."

"Come closer, Risha." The man mumbled quietly, "Let me see you."

The woman obeyed, while Raya, no less confused, looked side-long at the two before glancing at Corso, who seemed just as baffled by the scene.

"I'm... different now." Risha continued.

"Not that little girl constantly underfoot." The man said, "Now, you are my heir. My legacy."

Sighing, Raya obnoxiously cleared her throat, tired of being left out of the loop when she'd gone through so much trouble to get to this point, "So... does this mean I don't get paid?"

"Captain," Risha said, finally addressing her as she turned back to face them, "Meet my father, Nok Drayen. I believe I've mentioned him once or twice."

"No kidding." She grumbled, before shaking her head with a shrug, "Y'know, I probably should be surprised by this turn of events, but somehow, I'm not."

"That makes one of us," Corso mumbled beside her.

"Sorry I wasn't completely honest, Captain." Risha said, "I promised father when he entered Doctor Chelah's hibernation treatment I'd never tell anyone the truth."

"That's why you wouldn't tell me anything."

She nodded.

"Trust is a vice for the weak." Nok's dry, scratchy voice cut in, "I learned that the hard way. Ten years ago, one of my lieutenants deliberately infected me with a disease. It's deadly, incurable, and eating me alive."

That, however, Raya _did _find surprising, and suddenly the cybernetics made sense, her brow creasing in sympathy, "You replaced the infected parts with cybernetics."

"I've done everything to stop this disease," he replied, nodding his affirmation, "but it's never been enough. Soon, the illness will consume my vital organs."

All of this was hitting a little too close to home for Raya, but at least her cybernetics had the benefit of actually _saving _her life. This man had given up so much of his humanity in the hopes that it might save his life, as it had done for her. But all it had managed to do was slow the disease down, delaying his inevitable death.

She found herself sympathizing with him, even if she didn't trust him just yet.

"I lied about my father, Captain." Risha said, drawing her thoughts back to the situation at hand, "But not his last fortune; that's real. And thanks to all those starship upgrades, it's yours. You have the only starship in the galaxy equipped to travel where the fortune was lost. No one else can reach it."

"There is a region of space beyond the outer rim, called the Long Shadow." Nok explained, "There are no stars. No lights. No _life_. Just a derelict starship drifting into a massive black hole. My fortune waits for you there."

Raya raised her brow with an incredulous shake of her head, "Sorry, I'm not typically one to question a huge pile of money, but did you say '_massive black hole'_?"

"Few spacers have seen the Long Shadow and survived." He added, "They describe it as a vast darkness, slowly consuming the galaxy." He stepped closer, "I will give you the coordinates to the derelict vessel. You'll fly into the Long Shadow, and board it. Retrieve the vessel's reliquary, and bring it here. Risha will take a single item. The rest is yours."

Folding her arms, Raya shook her head, "I don't get it. Why work so hard to obtain this fortune, go so far as to leave it outside a _black hole_ to keep it safe while you enter hibernation, only to give it away once you woke up?"

"The fortune is not what is important to us. It is a simple piece of ornamentation that has no value to you."

Suspicious, she glanced at Risha, whose expression was, for once, unguarded. The woman gave her what appeared to be a reassuring nod. It didn't reassure her at all.

"My daughter will stay here. I have things to tell her, and my time grows short."

"I'd wish you good luck, Captain." Risha said, her mouth pulling upwards at the corners, "But I know you don't need it."

_Why do I get the feeling I'm being sent into a death trap?_

Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at Corso, "You ready for the ride of your life, farm boy?"

He looked back at her, a twinge of excitement sparking in his eyes that she just could not refuse, "Can't believe we're doin' this!"

"Gimme the coordinates," she said, shaking her head as she reached out her hand towards the old man, "but if I die, I'm coming back to haunt you two."


	11. In Which a Bad Situation Gets Even Worse

_Author's Note:_

So I realized as I was going back and watching SWTOR vidjas on Youtube to refresh my memory that Risha is actually younger than my smuggler. I hadn't had my relationship with her developed far enough to have unlocked that conversation in my game yet, so I was going with my own headcanon and thinking she was slightly older than Ray. Turns out she's 21, whereas Raya is 26 in this story. Changing it to canon doesn't really affect anything in my story, and I really hate straying from canon when I don't have to, so I'll be going back to earlier chapters and editing them to make Risha's age accurate. Nothing else will change, however.

As always, I thank you endlessly for your continued support for this story, and for all of you writers, go check out ZenWriter. Seriously. It's a godsend. I've been spitting out chapters like nobody's business since I downloaded it, and the best part is: _**it's free.**_

Download it here: www . beenokle . com [slash] zenwriter . html

Or, you could just do a Google search for it. It's the very first result.

Enjoy!

- BB

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Eleven: **_In Which a Bad Situation Gets Even Worse_

It was quiet. Unnervingly so. As the_ Dace Legacy_ pulled out of hyperspace, Raya couldn't help feeling cold at the lack of stars, the unending void that was The Long Shadow, even though she knew the sensation was all in her head. She stood, allowing Corso to take the controls as the ship approached the derelict vessel at the coordinates given to her by Nok Drayen. She rubbed her arms to ward off the chill that spread over them, and her brow creased at the feeling of dread that settled like a dead weight in her stomach. Taking a breath and letting it out slowly, she put a hand on Corso's shoulder and felt him cover it with his own, sensing her unease and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Corso pulled the ship into dock, while Raya called Bowdaar and C2-N2 onto the bridge.

"Stay alert, you two." She said, looking between the droid and the wookiee, her arms crossed over her chest, "We're sitting outside of a black hole, and I'm not sure what's gonna happen in there, so we might have to leave in a hurry. Risha's not here right now, so I'll need you guys to keep the hyperdrive prepped and the ship ready for action."

Bowdaar nodded silently while C2 erupted into a chorus of, "Yes Master. Right away, Master. It shall be done, Master..." as she walked away with a roll of her eyes.

They left the ship and boarded the larger vessel and she took a bolstering breath, stopping in front of the docking bay doors when the floor suddenly rumbled beneath them, shaking the duo on their feet as they struggled to find balance. They stared at each other for a moment once the shaking subsided, and she threw one last look back at her beloved ship before a computerized voice spoke over the vessel's loudspeaker, **"WARNING: HULL INTEGRITY FAILING. THIS VESSEL IS ENTERING THE SINGULARITY'S EVENT HORIZON."**

"I'm thinkin' we should make this quick, Captain." Corso muttered.

Raya groaned, reaching up to massage her temples with her thumb and forefinger, "Why can't things be easy, just once?"

"**VESSEL DISINTEGRATION IMMINENT. ALL CREW ADVISED TO ABANDON SHIP."**

She let out a sigh, "Let's find our treasure and get the hell out of here."

The ship was eerily silent. Too quiet for Raya's tastes, and aside from the occasional tremors of the ship entering the event horizon, there wasn't a soul to be seen alive. Bodies littered the halls-skeletons, really-but no way to tell for certain how they had died. That now-familiar chill spread over her spine once again as they picked their way to the vault. Something terrible had happened here.

Eventually, they came upon a cluster of bodies caught at a choke point that led into a large hallway. She stepped through, but had to stop short at the sight of the escape pods built solidly into the outer wall. Not a single pod had been launched. Her brow creasing, she turned back to look at the bodies at the doorway again before shaking her head, "Whatever happened here, it happened fast. They never even made it to the escape pods."

_Not that it would have done them any good. Not like they could go anywhere out here._

"I got a bad feeling about this, Captain." Corso murmured beside her before a particularly large tremor shook the foundation beneath them.

"C'mon," she beckoned, motioning with her head for him to follow her, pushing down the bile creeping up her throat, "We have to hurry."

They didn't have to go much further to find their destination. The reliquary was right where Nok had said it would be, but they hadn't anticipated that the droid guarding it would take the time to chat. Well... sort of.

"Biological entities identified." The droid said upon their approach, "Beginning mandatory royal edict playback..."

The holoprojector in front of them flickered for a moment before the image of a much younger-looking Nok Drayen appeared before them. The extravagant clothing he wore pegged him as more than just a crime-lord. Much, much more, and Raya was not at all surprised by what the recording had to say.

Well, okay. Maybe a little surprised.

"I, King Arak Drayen the Third, find my throne under attack. Traitors aim to take away what rightfully belongs to me." The holographic image explained, his expression twisting in barely-concealed contempt, "The wealth of Dubrillion will not fall into the hands of my enemies. Instead, I will remove it from their reach.

"My Royal Executioner droid will sabotage this vessel's hyperdrive and exterminate you, the crew, to ensure there is no rescue."

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Corso exclaimed.

"You served me well in life. In death, you will serve me better." The holographic Nok continued, "Goodbye, my subjects."

With that, the holo winked out of view, and they were left standing there in front of a rather large and menacing-looking droid who was probably about to kill them.

"Royal edict playback complete." The droid said, "Initiating execution protocols."

Her eyes widening, she held up her hands in what she hoped was a placating gesture, "Oh, hang on there, metalocalypse! We're not the crew! We're, uh... tourists."

"Really, Captain?" She could feel Corso's unimpressed stare boring a hole into the back of her head, but she didn't reply.

"Understood." The droid responded, "Secondary objective: Protect treasury vessel from unauthorized access."

Corso lifted a frustrated hand to his head, rubbing his temples, "I knew this conversation was gonna end badly."

"Was worth a shot." Raya mused, shrugging as the droid took a couple of steps forward and she and Corso drew their weapons.

"Executing now."

Corso fired up his shield and took the brunt of the droid's blaster fire long enough for Raya to dash back to the entrance and take cover behind the wall. He joined her on the other side a few moments later before his shield ran out while she tossed out one of her sticky grenades, detonating it the second it made contact with the droid's chassis. A part of its armour blew off with the impact to reveal its inner workings, and she retreated back behind the wall again, charging her blasters.

She leaned out to place her shot, but a bolt from the droid's blaster slammed into the wall beside her, uncomfortably close to her head, and she jerked back into cover again, swearing bitterly. "Corso!" She called across to her partner, "Draw its fire for a sec, but keep your distance!"

"Sure thing, Captain!" He fired up his shield and, stepping out into the open, he shouted at the droid to get its attention.

Leaning out of cover in the reprieve, she fired her charged blasters into the hole within the droid's armour, watching as a huge explosion of sparks shot out of the droid's chassis as she stepped out to survey the damage, catching her breath.

"Exec-executing..." the droid stammered as she took a couple of steps toward the droid. Its movements jerked and stuttered for a moment, the circuits shorting, but the weapon did not lower in its hands, "Executing... repair protocols."

Her eyes widened, and she sprinted up to the droid, angry now, "Oh no you don't!"

Pulling a thermal grenade from her belt and flipping the switch, she stuffed it into the hole in the droid's chest, ducking away and grabbing Corso's hand to pull him back into cover with her. An explosion lit up the vault, sending debris firing past them and clattering into the hall.

Suddenly, it was quiet again, the only sounds within the chamber their laboured breathing as Corso looked over at her, "You okay, Captain?"

"Fine," she assured him, but then she noticed the burn searing clean through his armour near his right shoulder and her hands flew to his chest, pulling at the clasps of his chestplate, "Corso, you're hit!"

He hissed out a breath through his teeth at her touch, pushing her hands away as another tremor shook the ship, "No time, Captain. I'll be fine 'til we get back to the _Legacy_."

She stared at him for a moment, but knew he was right, so she pulled away and stooped before the vault, inputting the code that Nok had given her, grumbling to herself, "This better work."

With a soft click, a small door within the vault slid open, revealing a lockbox about one foot square. She lifted an eyebrow at it before shoving the box into her pack. _This _was supposed to be worth an untold _fortune_? She found it hard to believe, but didn't have time to dwell on it as Corso's voice spoke from behind her, "Uh... Captain?"

She pushed herself back to a standing position, turning back to the sounds of metallic footfalls in the hallway behind her, and a veritable army of lesser droids with weapons trained on the pair, while another large quake took hold of the ship, very nearly shaking them from their feet. The tremors were getting closer together, which could _not _have been a good sign. Groaning, Raya drew her blasters again and slid into cover as a hail of blaster fire descended upon them.

"Must've been activated with the executioner droid." Corso mused.

"Oh, well this is just _fantastic_." She grumbled.

"We don't have time for this!"

"Try telling them that!"

Luckily, the droids had been just as thrown off balance by the quake as they had, and many of them had lost their balance altogether, so she pulled another thermal grenade and tossed it into the fray, watching many of the droids explode with it.

Short on time, she cut a hole through the mob with her blasters and pushed forward, "We gotta keep moving!"

By some miracle, they managed to make their way to the hangar bay without any more injuries, though she could see by the pain etched into Corso's brow that his shoulder was causing him no shortage of discomfort.

Pushing their way into the hangar, she saw the _Legacy_, still safely docked and ready to take off, and she gestured to her ship, turning back to the controls beside the docking bay door, firing at any battle droids that got too close, "Get to the ship! I'll get this door shut!"

She didn't allow herself to relax until the door slid shut with a heavy metallic clang. At which point, she let her shoulders slump with a sigh of relief, whirling back to approach her ship, "Now let's get the hell outta here before this whole place comes apart."

Of course, she was stopped by a blaster pointed at her head, held by none other than the slimy womp rat himself, Skavak.

Corso took a protective step in front of her, but she pushed past him in barely-concealed rage, glaring at the man who had stolen her ship months ago and caused her no shortage of distress.

"Hey, Captain!" The thief said, standing before the entrance to her only escape from a vessel that was falling apart that just so happened to be the ship that he'd stolen merely months ago. There was _no way_ she was letting it fall into his hands again, "Bet you're surprised to see me."

_Surprised _didn't even begin to cover it.


	12. Storms, Eyes, and Stormy Eyes

_Author's Note:_

If I don't post this now, it'll never get posted. I don't think I'll ever be happy with the ending until I've completely picked it apart and systematically ruined it. I'm grossly out of my comfort zone posting even what I did, though I don't think it _quite _bridges to the M rating. It's definitely pushing the T rating to its limit, however, so let me know if you think I should bump up the rating.

Having said that, if the end of this gives you cavities, feel free to take one of the complimentary toothbrushes on the way out.

If you're one who likes to listen to music while reading, I'd highly suggest you do a Youtube search for "Push-Pull Liquid Mountains" and let it play while reading the second half of this chapter. It's one of the songs featured as the background music for ZenWriter that I've been listening to non-stop while writing.

As always, massive thanks goes to my reviewers/readers/lurkers/followers etc etc. You're the bomb, and I'm consistently amazed that you've stayed with me as long as you have. Also, shout-out to **Laryn Chillbreeze **for her frighteningly accurate prediction about this chapter.

And finally, a disclaimer because it's been a while since I wrote one: _Much as I'd like to claim credit for SWTOR, it's generally frowned upon in our society. I own nothing. It all belongs to Lucas Arts and BioWare. I'm just playing with their toys._

Enjoy,

- BB

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Twelve: **_Storms, Eyes, and Stormy Eyes_

Murderous. Livid. Unbelieveably, undeniably trigger-happy. Wanting to see that sneaky bastard on the floor, drowning in a pool of his own blood. These seemed to more accurately convey just what the Captain was feeling at that very moment. The only other time Corso had seen that hateful scowl twist her otherwise lovely features had been when the thief had made off with her ship the first time. Only Skavak could bring such hatred to life within her.

Well, perhaps also slavers for what they had done to her sister.

That was beside the point. They were minutes away from the ship on which they were docked coming apart while they were still _on _it, and this thieving scum was blocking the way to their only escape. Did he have a death wish?

"I'm only surprised you have the guts to face me in person." The Captain said, that murderous glare stubbornly clinging to her face.

"Let's say you've earned my _personal _attention." Skavak replied, "See, I've always believed if you can't beat 'em, join em'... and _then _beat 'em. So I stowed away back on Nar Shaddaa."

He sat on the stairs, lowering his weapon-_Torchy!_-with a relaxed shrug of his shoulders. They took the opportunity to draw their own weapons, having them at the ready for the next inevitable battle.

"Funny thing about wookiees:" Skavak continued, "They got great big lungs. Only takes a couple breaths of happy gas to knock one out."

Corso noticed the chink in her armour. The ever-so-slight twitch of her elegant brow, the tightening of her jaw, the darkening of her ice blue eyes. Oh, he'd gone and done it now. Hurting one of her friends was a line _nobody _crossed.

Yep. The man _definitely _had a death wish.

"Skavak," Corso said, pulling the thief's attention away from the Captain to focus on him, "I want my BlasTech ALT-25 back. I want my Torchy."

"You have a real single-minded devotion to your toys, kid." The slimy smuggler replied, "It's gonna get you killed." He turned back to the Captain again, "I wanna be civil about this. Sure, you've made my life miserable," At this, Corso watched as Raya's mouth pulled into a feral grin, clearly pleased with how she'd successfully managed to become a persistent thorn in his side-almost as much as he'd been a thorn in hers, "But I don't hold a grudge. Really."

"Oh, but I do." Raya's thumb flicked the catch on her blasters and he heard them begin to charge. Her eyes narrowed to slits, and it was clear that she was picturing the man's death in a thousand different and creative ways, "You should've quit while you were behind, Skavak. At least then, you'd probably escape with your life. You have a knack for doing that."

"And miss all this fun?" He responded, a smug grin twisting his features, "Not a chance. Bottom line: There's _nothing _you have, that I can't steal."

"Yeah? Well good luck with that from beyond the veil, or wherever it is you end up when you're done suffocating in deep space." She replied, her eyes dark and menacing, before she let her shoulders lift in a deceptively relaxed shrug, "Or, bleeding on the floor. Whatever comes first. I'm not picky."

Evidently done with the conversation, Skavak raised his blaster and fired a few wild shots at them before taking cover in between a couple of shipping containers.

They jumped in opposite directions to avoid the blaster fire. She tucked into a neat somersault, scooting up to take cover behind a nearby crate. Corso, however, was nowhere near as graceful, scrambling behind another crate and slamming his back up against it, causing an uncomfortable throb in his already injured shoulder.

An explosion sounded from somewhere within the station, behind the sealed hangar door, and Corso let out a frustrated groan. "We don't have time for this, Captain!" He shouted, "This place is fallin' apart!"

"No kidding!" Was her rather unimpressed response.

Leaning out from cover, Corso fired a few experimental shots from behind the crate, his rifle's kick-back driving an agonizing shock into his injured shoulder, but Skavak was fast. Too fast for him to match in his state. As it was, he was finding it difficult to keep his rifle in his hands.

Ducking back behind the crate, he risked a glance over at the Captain. She was having trouble getting a clear shot at the thief, popping out from cover to fire, but he was just as quick as she at hiding himself from blaster fire, and frankly, they didn't have time to sit around in a fire fight when the vessel was coming apart around them.

_Think._ He demanded of himself, _We need this over __**now**__. _

Peeking around the crate again, he noticed the other shipping container behind Skavak, who was leaning out to fire concentrated shots at Raya, eerily silent in her calm riposte. She was always calm in a fire fight, but never this quiet. She loved fighting, happily goading her enemies along and mocking them. Just the fact that she was so silent was a testament to just how furious she was, and how badly she wanted this bastard dead.

He looked back at Skavak, nestled between a pair of shipping containers, and suddenly, he had an idea.

They were just flimsy plasteel crates. Thin and hollow. Easily punctured by something with enough force. Pulling out his harpoon shot, he waited for a break in Skavak's fire before making a mad dash over to Raya, sharing her cover, "Give me one of your stickies."

"What?" She protested, flinching at a blaster shot sparking off the crate beside her, "Why?"

He handed her his weapon, "I can't use this-too heavy, and my aim is wild." He explained shortly, shrugging off the weight with a relieved sigh, "But you see that crate behind him?"

She stared at him for a moment, confused, but poked her head out for only long enough to see what he was referring to, "Yeah. What about it?"

"That's a much easier target for me to hit."

The Captain looked at him for a moment more, her confusion clearing by the second as the realization dawned in her sky blue eyes and a feral grin pulled her lips to the side. She glanced down at the harpoon shot he'd handed her before returning her eyes to him with a nod.

"What's wrong, Captain?" Skavak goaded her from his position across the docking bay, "You two having a lover's quarrel back there?"

"More like planning our victory party!" She replied, handing Corso one of her adhesive grenades and lifting the harpoon shot in her arms. Corso took the opportunity to flip the grenade's switch and lean out of cover long enough to toss it in Skavak's direction.

The thief easily dodged it with a chuckle, "You need to work on your aim, kid!"

Unbeknownst to Skavak, the grenade stuck to the crate behind him, and was getting closer to exploding by the second.

Raya, equipped with Corso's harpoon, rolled out of cover to her knees with a direct shot at the distracted Skavak, and without a moment's hesitation, pulled the trigger.

The harpoon hurtled across the docking bay, slamming mercilessly into Skavak's shoulder, the force shoving him backwards and pinning him to the crate that had become a ticking time-bomb, his-_Corso's-_-blaster flying uselessly out of his hand.

"His aim is perfect." Raya muttered, watching as Skavak's eyes turned downward to observe the beeping explosive to his lower left, and taking in the look of abject horror that spread across his face. Corso took her arm in his good hand and yanked her back into cover, just moments before the explosion rocked the docking bay, sending metallic debris and shrapnel (and he didn't want to think about what _else)_ flying every which way.

It took a moment for time to catch up with them, and Corso hadn't been aware that he'd pulled her against his chest in a protective embrace. When he did realize it, he was reluctant to let go, but then the reality of their situation caught up with him and he released her when she pushed herself to her feet, already back to business.

"Good thinkin', flyboy!" She said, giving him a nod before gesturing to where his beloved Torchy lay without even giving Skavak's... _remains _the courtesy of a second look, "Go grab your blaster and let's get the hell outta here!"

"Sure thing, Captain!" He responded, unable to hide the ecstatic smile caused by regaining his lost blaster as he ran to pick it up before joining her on the _Legacy_ again, sliding into the copilot's seat to her right as she brushed her hands effortlessly over the controls and launched her ship out of the disintegrating vessel. She only took the time to relax once she hit the hyperdrive and the blue swirl of hyperspace surrounded them.

Finally, _finally,_ she heaved out a sigh, leaning back in her seat as her shoulders eased from the seemingly permanent weight that the entire fiasco with Skavak had placed on them ever since first landing on Ord Mantell. She closed her eyes, and for just a moment, the crease in her brow lifted, and he saw her completely at peace.

"Whoever said that revenge wasn't sweet must never have met anyone like Skavak." He muttered.

"You got that right." She gave him a little sideways grin and a breathy laugh that made his heart skip a beat, "It was probably a Jedi."

They were quiet for a moment, until she opened her eyes and turned to face him, pushing herself to her feet, "I'm gonna go make sure Bowdaar's okay. Meet me in the medbay after and we'll do something about your shoulder."

Corso nodded, obliging her a few minutes later, once it was evident that Bowdaar was in fact, quite easy to awaken when he shot upwards with a growling shout, she'd told him, the wookiee's furry hands taking hold of her upper arms until he could reorient himself with where he was and who was standing before him. Bowdaar had released her after a moment, and she explained what happened when he assured her that he was fine.

Now, she was standing in the medbay behind a shirtless Corso, her gentle hands tying off a set of kolto-soaked bandages she'd wrapped around the blaster burn in his shoulder.

"I don't know much about medicine." She muttered, shaking her head, "This is the best I can do until we get back to Risha and the others. Then Dr. Chelah can take a look."

"It's fine." He replied, flexing his shoulder experimentally, his brow creasing with the bolt of pain that shot through him. It was markedly better now that the kolto was beginning to take effect, seeping into his muscles and numbing the pain while it mended the wound.

"You were great back there, y'know." Raya said, sitting down on the cot beside him with a slight nudge to his good arm, her head tilting slightly to the side as she regarded him, "We never would've gotten outta there on time if it hadn't been for your quick thinking."

Despite the fact that his heart swelled a little with pride, he could only stare at her in silence, unsure of what to say, "Uh, thanks, Captain."

In the short silence that followed, his mind wandered back to the last time they'd been alone like this, simply enjoying each other's company without any immediate worries to draw their attention. She'd seemed so comfortable and relaxed while she settled against his chest in the lounge before the sudden change in her composure and her subsequent flight from the room. He wondered if it had anything to do with him. If maybe he'd said or done something to upset her, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it could be.

"Ray, I-"

"Corso, there's-"

Slightly taken aback, Raya nodded at him, "Uh... you first."

"The other day when we were in the lounge talking about when we met," he began, taking a breath before continuing, "why'd you run off?"

He watched her face turn downcast, her blue eyes focusing on her hands in her lap as her brow creased in consternation, as if searching for the right words, "That's... actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Did I do someth-" he started when she didn't elaborate, but he didn't get a chance to finish before she interrupted him.

"No!" She protested, her gaze snapping back up at him as she vehemently shook her head, "It's nothing like that. I..." She trailed off and there was another moment of silence where she looked past him at the opposite wall before returning her eyes to his own, a helpless shrug lifting her shoulders, "I was scared, Corso."

His brow furrowed, and he shook his head, confused.

"This-_whatever this is_-between us, it's all new to me. I know I talk like I have it all together, but the truth is, I have no idea what I'm doing. What I feel for you, whatever this relationship is, it's..." her sentence died off again as she gave him another helpless shrug, "beyond my experience."

He shook his head, "What do you mean?"

Raya sighed heavily, "I've never felt like this before, never been in a serious relationship. Part of me wants to kiss you for making me feel this way. The other wants to _kill_ you for getting me into this mess."

He wasn't certain how he should feel about that, so remained quiet, dwelling on what she'd said as she gathered her thoughts and, after a moment, continued.

"When I realized I was... falling for you... I got scared." She explained, "I pulled away for a bit, but that didn't last long, and you inevitably pulled me back in. Then, when I realized in the lounge that I'd _fallen _for you, it hit me like a kick to the chest, and I just... panicked."

_Is she saying what I think she's saying? _Hope blossomed in his chest, and his heart hammered relentlessly against his ribcage.

"Fellin was right about one thing." She muttered, shaking her head with a brief but fond smile as she remembered her old mentor, "Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it's impossible to avoid getting attached. Stars, it must be tough for you handle my awkward, fumbling attempts at a relationship."

That was about all he could take without exploding (_Damn, she's adorable_), and it took him barely a second to bridge the distance between them, his lips meeting hers in a sweet, tender kiss that he poured every bit of his love into.

Pulling away to look at her after a moment, he met her forehead with his own and just stared into the swirling ice storm that was her eyes and he realized that her face was, for once, unguarded. For the first time, he saw her bare her soul to him. He saw fear, anxiety and for the first time, he saw love.

When her lips parted in an uncharacteristically shy smile, her hand coming up to rest against his cheek, he couldn't restrain himself anymore. He pulled her into a kiss that became more insistent, more demanding and... just _more_ as he turned his body towards her and used his good arm to pull her closer to him, her body melting into his.

His arm kept her close as their bodies lowered to the cot, but the moment her back was flat against the mattress, he felt her tense up as she pulled away far enough to regard him with her brow furrowed, "Your shoulder."

"It's fine." He said, and though he still felt the occasional stab of pain, the kolto had done its job and the wound was sufficiently numb.

She heaved out a breath, her fingers ruffling the strands of his hair as she ran her hands through it with a confused shake of her head while she took in their surroundings-his injured shoulder, the medbay, the cot-before returning her eyes to him, "Thought you wanted this to be perfect?"

"It _is _perfect." He replied simply.

She fell silent, looking around again in thought until she returned her eyes to his, "Yeah." She said after a moment, her mouth pulling into a grin, "Yeah, I guess it is."

He leaned down to kiss her again, but metallic footfalls out in the hall caused them to freeze, eyes wide and glued to the door.

"Master?"

They both groaned in frustration, his head falling onto her chest, hers falling back onto the pillow with a roll of her eyes as she gently pushed him off her and got to her feet.

"_Almost_ perfect." She replied as he sat up and she stood, dragging her hand across his naked chest as she walked away, "One sec."

He watched (appreciatively) while she sauntered to the door, leaning out into the hall, and heard C2's voice confirm that the droid had found her.

"Oh, Master! There you are! I was so worried when that man came in here! Then he deactivated me, and I couldn't find you, and-"

"See-Two, is the _Legacy_ falling apart at the seams?" She asked.

"No, Master."

"Are we under attack?"

"No, Master."

"Is there anything about what you were going to say that is important to my life _right at this very moment_?"

"Well, nothing that can't wait, Master."

"Good!" She replied cheerfully, "You won't mind if I do _this_, then?"

"Well, Master, that is my control panel, and if you push that button it will-" The droid's voice cut off and silence filled the hall.

"What?" He heard her ask, "Sorry, See-Two, I can't hear you over the sound of all this _peace and quiet_."

He couldn't stop his laughter as the Captain entered the medbay again, locking the door behind her and pulling the long brown jacket from her shoulders, tossing it aside as she stepped up to him, standing between his legs with a smirk.

"_Now _it's perfect."

Grinning, he let his hands slide down her bare arms and he brought her own hands up to surround his shoulders while she climbed up onto his lap to straddle him, careful not to jostle his injured shoulder. She bent her head and brought her lips to his cheek, his jaw, his ear, his neck, before returning once again to his mouth. Her hands drifted down his chest while his own crept shyly up her shirt, and she inhaled sharply through her nose at his touch on her bare skin, smiling against his lips.

When she took his lower lip between her teeth and nipped it just hard enough to make him hiss, just as she had done a couple of weeks earlier when she'd been practically drowning in alcohol and nearly impossible to resist, his eyes rolled back into his head and when he felt her hand creeping lower and lower to its destination, he lost all train of coherent thought.

Soon, they were lost in each other, safety and love lingering in the eye of a storm, finding just a moment of strength and comfort in one another before braving the inevitable tempest.

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><p><em>Author's Note<em>

Sorry, I couldn't help it. C2 is just _too much fun_ to torture them with.


	13. Tip of the Iceberg

_Author's Note: _

Well, I can officially say that I am **FREE!** I have finished my fifth semester of university and now have a three-week break for the holidays! To celebrate, have a chapter!

As always, HUGE thanks to all of you for checking out my story. Massive thanks to reviewers/lurkers/followers, etc. You're the best, and your support is seriously motivational. I was especially happy to receive encouraging reviews to the last chapter, because I wasn't particularly proud of it when I posted it. Thank you so much for your encouraging words.

As all of you familiar with the smuggler story know, the end of act one provides a bit of a break where the smuggler seemingly falls out of contact for a while. As such, the next chapter is going to be a doozy, and it's gonna take some preparation. It happens during that break and if you're following **Laryn Chillbreeze**'s stories about her spunky smuggler, Imara, then you won't be too surprised by the time it rolls around. So, if you're not following her wonderful fics, go do that. Seriously. They're awesome.

And without further ado, I give you, Chapter 13!

- BB

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Thirteen:** _The Tip of the Iceberg_

They awoke a few hours later to Bowdaar's frustrated growling over the intercom (after searching for them in both the lounge and the bridge and coming up empty), letting them know they'd arrived in the system and were approaching Nar Shaddaa.

They'd fallen asleep on the cot in the medbay, Raya laying atop him, exhausted from the fiasco back in The Long Shadow (not to mention their _other_ activities), with her hands supporting her temple upon his chest, his good arm held securely around her and his lips pressed against the top of her head. At some point over the few hours of sleep they'd quietly stolen, Corso managed to pull the blankets over them (despite his injured shoulder) when he felt gooseflesh spread over her back and arms, though she had no memory of it happening.

She kept her eyes closed, enjoying the moment with a deep breath until she felt the backs of Corso's fingers on her cheek. The sensation pulled her mouth into a sleepy smile before she could stop it, and she lifted her head from its position on his chest, opening her eyes to see his own staring back at her with a crooked grin, his hand moving to thread his fingers through her loose ebony locks.

"My life'd be about perfect if I could stay right here forever." He murmured, and she hummed lightly, enjoying the feel of his fingers in her hair before he tilted his head down and kissed her, letting his other hand come up to rest against the scarred flesh of her left cheek and meeting her eyes, "I won't let anyone hurt you again."

A smirk pulled her lips to the side as she put up her tough front, "Just 'cause you like watching my rear doesn't mean I can't still _kick_ yours."

"I don't doubt it." He responded, "But there's things a man's gotta do. And one is keep his lady safe. Even if she could blast him into component atoms."

"Don't you forget it, flyboy." Raya replied with a playful grin, kissing him again. "How's the shoulder?" She asked when she pulled away, pressing her lips to the indent her jaw implant had left in the skin of his chest once she noticed it and gently smoothing it away with her fingertips.

"Little stiff. Still a bit numb." He replied, flexing his arm around her experimentally, "Nothin' serious."

"Still, better have Dr. Chelah take a look." She said, "Don't wanna have you outta commission when we finally get to spending Nok Drayen's fortune."

"We?"

She looked at him, her brow furrowed in confusion, "Of course, _we_. I wasn't gonna just kick you to the curb when this was over, y'know. You're my copilot, my friend, my... boyfriend." The word repeated itself in her head for a moment, and she mulled it over. It was definitely strange to hear it coming from her own mouth, but not entirely unpleasant. "Even before all this relationship stuff, I got used to having you around. Now, if you got somewhere you need to be, that's different- "

"No!" He interrupted, grinning as he took her face in his hands and met her eyes, "There's nowhere else I need to be, nowhere else I'd rather be, than right here at your side."

"Good. 'Cause I'd miss you." She met his eyes for a moment before giving him a wink, "'Sides, I get the feeling that this whole wild chase of Nok Drayen's fortune's only the beginning. Rogun's still out there, after all, and something tells me things are about to get a lot more complicated."

"Well, it's certainly never boring."

"Flyboy, the day things get boring around me will be the day I sober up and become a jedi." She shook her head, puzzled, "What do they even _do_ in their downtime? Like, when they're not fighting sith, do they just sit and meditate? Read? Watch the holo? Play Pazaak? They must have such boring personal lives."

His chest shook with a laugh, "Well, next time we meet a jedi, we'll have to ask 'em."

"In the meantime, we should probably head down to meet Risha." She gave him another quick kiss before pushing off him and getting to her feet, looking for her clothes and tossing a wink and a wry smile at him over her shoulder, "I can already smell the credits."

* * *

><p>When they later met back up with Risha and her father, the older man was writhing in pain on a small cot set against the far wall with both Risha and Dr. Chelah hovering over him. As they walked in, she overheard Dr. Chelah confirm that Nok's disease had already consumed his heart, and that his death would be imminent, and fast.<p>

"Give me the reliquary," he said, as Corso approached Dr. Chelah and the selkath began to examine his shoulder while Nok continued, "I want to see these treasures before I die."

"The Long Shadow was... quite a place." Raya handed him the lockbox, "I have no plans to go back."

He entered a code on the lockbox's keypad, and they watched as the lid opened to reveal a compartment filled to the rim with various precious jewels and metals, small artifacts, and a large pile of high-value credits. Among the artifacts, was a crown, reminiscent of the one they'd seen the holo of a much younger Nok wearing back on the derelict vessel.

"Congratulations, Captain." Risha chimed in, pulling her attention back to the situation at hand, "Nok Drayen's lost treasure is yours."

"With one exception," Nok added, turning to his daughter, "Take the crown, Risha. Claim your birthright. Restore the Drayen dynasty as rulers of Dubrillion. Wear the crown, and rule that world."

"So all this," Raya shook her head, her brow furrowed, holding her arms out in a loose shrug, "the whole crazy treasure hunt I've spent the last seven months on has been to get some kingdom back?"

"Our kingdom," Nok replied, his eye creasing in anger, "and revenge on the usurpers who stole our throne."

"Remember those assassins on Tatooine?" Risha asked, "They were sent by the current king of Dubrillion to end me."

"Why didn't you tell me that back on Tatooine?" Raya demanded.

"The less people who know the truth, the better. You saw what happened to my friend Audila, and she didn't know anything."

"You're entitled to your secrets, Risha," Raya replied, shaking her head, "but the moment they put my crew, and my ship in danger, is the moment it becomes _my business_."

"Don't concern yourself with the fates of others." Nok said, pulling their attention back to him as he turned to his daughter, "You have more important things to worry about. If you're going to rule a world, Risha, you'll have to do questionable things."

"Right, that reminds me." Raya said, nodding with fake enthusiasm, "Nice job, by the way, sabotaging your treasury ship and abandoning the entire crew to die at the hands of your executioner droid." She grumbled, her eyes narrowing, "Real classy."

"I have no need to explain myself to you."

"Don't bother." She scoffed, waving a hand dismissively, "You're pretty much exactly what I expected."

The crime lord stared at her for a moment before turning back to face his daughter, "Let this be my final lesson to you; The spacer has fulfilled her purpose. Dispose of her, and keep the reliquary's treasures for yourself."

"What?!" Corso's voice cut in, scandalized by the revelation from his position on the cot where Chelah perused over Raya's less-than-professional medical dressing.

Raya, on the other hand, had expected nothing less in her experience, and so she lifted her shoulders in a shrug, letting out a mirthless breath of laughter as she shook her head, "Oh _why_ am I not surprised?" Her arms crossed over her chest as she shifted her weight to one leg, narrowing her eyes on the crime lord, "Given your treatment of your _loyal subjects_, I guess I kinda saw this coming."

"Loyalty had nothing to do with your actions." He replied, and though he was still standing strong, his brow furrowed in what Raya recognized as pain, "You were a common mercenary. The galaxy is full of trash like you."

Suddenly angry, her face twisted in a scowl as she took one quick step towards him, jabbing a finger into his chest regardless of his pain. "You don't get to tell _me_ what _my_ motivations are." She spat through a set of teeth clenched together so tight her jaw implants ached, stepping off once again as the once great and powerful crime lord and king weakly lowered his hands to his knees, doubling over in pain while his fatal disease progressed, "You don't know a _damn _thing about me."

"I don't need to." He muttered weakly.

Her hand was inches away from one of the blasters at her hip, fuelled by her rage and heedless of the fact that he was about to die anyway by the time Risha's voice interrupted them, "No, Father! I won't kill her! She's my friend!"

Raya turned to face her, truly surprised by _this_ turn of events and she pulled her hand from her blaster. Up to this point, the two women had trouble trusting each other, let alone considering themselves friends. Had that been entirely one-sided this whole time? Indeed, Risha had only ever _helped_ them against Skavak and his goons, and had the means to take off with her ship and pursue the hunt for herself a hundred times. And yet, here she was, her own _father_ placing her at odds with her captain, and still refusing to betray the loyalty Raya now realized her mechanic had displayed endlessly throughout the last seven months. Raya's mistrust had been entirely unwarranted.

Had she truly been alone for so long that she'd forgotten what it was like to have a friend?

"Useless child!" Nok protested, and Raya noticed Corso hop off the cot and step away from the conversation, his shoulders tense in anger as she followed him. Whatever Nok's last words to his daughter were, she missed them (though they didn't exactly seem _pleasant_) as she caught up with Corso.

"Hey." She placed a gentle hand on his good arm, "You okay?"

He whirled back to face her, his eyes wide and frenzied, "You're just gonna let him off that easy? After what he did to his crew? What he wanted his own daughter to do to you?"

She shook her head, shrugging helplessly, "What do you want me to do, kill him?" She thrust a hand out to gesture to the diseased man, bracing himself on the cot with his arms with his daughter looking on, "He's about to die anyway. Might as well let him spent his last moments with his daughter, rather than arguing with me."

It wouldn't be much longer now, by the look of things, and despite everything, her heart went out to her mechanic. She knew what it was like to lose a father to circumstances out of her control, and she wished there were something she could do, if for as much to give herself the satisfaction of fighting him for all he'd said as to give Risha her father back.

When Nok Drayen did finally succomb to his illness after just a few minutes, Risha stood with her back to them, silent for a moment over her father's body, her shoulders slumped and her head low. Raya couldn't see the woman's face, but she looked away anyway, feeling as though she was intruding on a moment of weakness. It lasted only a few seconds until Risha turned to Dr. Chelah and said something before making her way over to them, stooping to retrieve the reliquary along the way. There was no emotion betrayed in her expression as she opened the box while she walked and retrieved the crown before closing the lid again.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Captain." She said upon her approach, handing her the lockbox, "My father was sick."

_In more ways than one_, Raya thought, but knew better than to voice it, taking the box only after Risha insistently held it out to her. Instead, she replied, "I appreciate you, y'know, _not_ trying to kill me."

"After all you've done, that would've been highly ungrateful." The woman responded, "You're a wealthy woman, Captain. That reliquary holds more than just family heirlooms. Merchants will be killing each other to buy what you're selling."

Raya looked down at the crown in her (former) mechanic's hands for a moment before returning her gaze to Risha, "What about you? What'll you do?"

"I'm not sure. Taking back my kingdom isn't going to be easy. Everyone I've met from Dubrillion has tried to kill me. I don't have an army, or a starfleet." She lifted the crown, scrutinizing it before turning back to Raya with a shrug, "I'm supposed to take over a whole planet with just a crown?"

"My ship's still in need of a mechanic if you wanna stick around." Raya explained, folding her arms casually over her chest, "At least 'til you work out the details."

Raya was rewarded with a slight quirk of the woman's lips that _almost_ resembled a smile, "Sure, Captain. Your engines probably need a good tuning after that last trip."

"Figured you'd be stickin' around, Risha." Corso chimed in from behind her, "You're like a mynock that way."

Raya bit back a smirk while Risha rolled her eyes, ignoring him, "I'll make sure all the right people hear what you did today, Captain. It's the least I can do."

Raya held out a hand, and the younger woman took it in agreement, giving it a firm shake before she continued, "Besides, famous starship captains attract _profitable _opportunities, and queens-in-training can never have too many credits. Let's hit the hyperlanes."

She turned to walk away, but Raya stopped her, unsure how to go about the delicate situation, "Hey, you sure you don't wanna stick around for a few minutes? Say goodbye to your father?"

The woman's face twisted in a pained grimace, looking back over Raya's shoulder to where Nok Drayen's body lay, before meeting her eyes again, "My father died ten years ago, Captain."

Sensing that was the end of the conversation, Raya nodded in understanding, and they started back to the _Legacy_, "Fair enough."


	14. The Unfortunate Truth

_Author's Note:_

Well, I did say this chapter would be a doozy. 6500 words. That's a new record for me. My first official collaborative effort here, and if you're not already doing so, go check out **Laryn Chillbreeze**'s fic,_ "_Infiltration" for a new perspective on this chapter and some additional (optional, but very, _very_ juicy) information regarding the circumstances of this chapter. This was an emotional roller-coaster to write, but all in all, it was barrels of fun to put together with the help of the talented Laryn. So go read her story and leave her a review! You won't regret it, I promise!

Massive thanks to Laryn for her advice and assistance, and for boosting her posting schedule so we could get these chapters out on the same day. You're a trooper, and deserve an endless supply of accolades! Many thanks to my readers, reviewers, lurkers, followers, etc. as well. Your support is a huge encouragement to me, and I am so happy that you enjoy following my quirky smuggler and her misadventures.

Finally, I don't own Star Wars, or The Old Republic. So, y'know, don't hunt me down or anything. I'm just borrowing their toys.

Enjoy!  
>-BB<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Fourteen: **_The Unfortunate Truth_

The next three weeks passed relatively without incident. Given the nature of the months leading up to the confrontation with Nok Drayen and that whole mess, Raya figured a vacation was well in order. She was docked at the spaceport in Nar Shaddaa when she noticed the familiar crease in Corso's brow as they sat in the lounge playing sabaac. He was clearly distracted. Even though he was never able to hide his tells well enough to beat her, his losing streak was surprisingly long, even for him.

Stopping the card game before his debt got too far in the red, she stared at him for a moment, "Corso, is something wrong? You're playing particularly bad today."

"What?" He looked up, distracted by his cards before focusing on her again, "Oh, sorry, Ray. Guess there is somethin' on my mind."

"What's up?"

"Well," he began after a moment, laying his cards down on the table without meeting her eyes, "I've been keeping in contact with Rona."

"Yeah?" She replied, laying her own cards down, genuinely surprised and proud of him for keeping in contact with his cousin despite his disapproval of her choice of occupation. "She okay?"

"She's fine." He explained, "Still heading up the Black Suns, but we've been catching up. Seems like she's warming up to the idea that she can do something better with her life."

"Corso, that's great!"

"Yeah." He responded, "I was kinda thinkin'... maybe, since we're not really workin' right now, if I could go see her again."

"Of course you can, Corso. You can go tomorrow, if you want." Her brow furrowed, "Want me to come with you?"

"Nah, Captain." He shook his head, "I appreciate the offer, but I think this is somethin' I gotta do myself. I won't be long, though. There's only so much of that environment I can take before I have to leave again."

"Sure." Raya responded with an understanding nod, "I'll hit up one of the cantinas 'til you're ready. Flashy could use some new mods. Maybe I'll go shopping for some while I'm waiting."

"Thanks, Ray. This means a lot to me." He said, "I hope you know that."

Smirking, she rose to her feet and moved across to the other side of the table with his eyes following her the whole way. With a sly wink, she sat directly on his lap and slid her arm around his neck, "Well, you'll just have to reward me for my generosity now, won't you?"

"Oh, I think that can be arranged." He muttered, leaning closer to kiss her.

At that moment, the holoterminal beeped in the comm. room.

"It would appear there is a call coming in, Master." Her C2 unit said over the intercom system.

Raya growled as she pulled away from Corso, who just let out a heavily annoyed sigh, "I swear that droid plans this." She muttered, and he chuckled. "A core function of his programming is to see how much he can interrupt me at very crucial and inconvenient moments. I'll have to look into that."

"Master?"

She keyed the intercom, "Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious." Giving Corso an apologetic look, she got up and made her way into the comm. room. Her annoyance was wiped away as she recognized the familiar holofrequency that faced her on the terminal, and she brought up the call with a grin. The holo winked into view to show a human woman, her auburn hair pulled into a ponytail, her cybernetic right eye blinking eerily. The wide grin on her face ruined the effect, however, and Raya's arms crossed over her chest as she shifted her weight to one leg, "Well, if it isn't Imara Goodspeed. Been a while."

The woman in the holo smiled broadly, "Hey Ray. How's tricks?"

"Oh you know, blasters, credits, the usual." Raya responded with a shrug, "What've you been up to?"

Imara chuckled lightly, "Most would say 'no good', same as always. Just finished a job and needing some down time; thought it might be fun to get a hold of one of my old friends." She let out an exaggerated sigh, "But the only one around was you."

"Well, y'know how we smugglers are" Raya replied, returning the woman's smirk as she played along, "We're a wily bunch. Hard to know who to trust, and all that." She breathed a quick laugh, "It just so happens that I have some downtime myself. You just call to catch up?"

"Businesswomen, Ray." The woman responded, correcting her as she shook a finger at her through the holo, "Businesswomen. And yeah, I try to keep in contact with people, make sure they're still alive and all that y'know?" Her smile turned wry, "You got plans?"

She shook her head, "Not for a few days. You got somethin' in mind?"

"Well... there's this one slope on Alderaan I've been itching to try." She responded, pausing slightly. Raya could swear she saw a flash of amusement in her friend's good eye through the holo while the mirth faded away from Raya's face and her eyes widened in surprise as she froze. Skiing. Great. Sports were never particularly attractive for Raya. Her idea of a good time was spending hours on the shooting range, just her and her blasters, and her idea of healthy competition was playing (and cheating) at cards.

"Uh huh."

"Oh c'mon." Imara prodded, a confident gleam in her one visible green eye, "You're okay with getting stabbed, shot at, and stars know what else, but you're afraid to slide down a little hill?"

"It ain't the hill I'm concerned about." Her eyebrow lifted, her expression twisting with distaste, "It's the disgusting, swirling, wet _mess_ that people call snow. I mean, I like Alderaan, but not because of the snow." She added, glowering, "That stuff can stay up there on the mountains, _well away _from me."

Imara let out an inelegant snort, "Snow? Really? You act like you're from Tatooine or something."

Raya just stared at her, unimpressed as the woman paused again, thinking.

"Tell you what." Imara said finally, "We can go out and pester some nobles at one of their fancy-shmancy cantinas afterward. My treat."

Despite it all, she felt herself smirk, "Tempting. I have been itchin' to give my nobility impression another try. Nothin' more fun than showing the nobles how psychotic they are." She was actually quite proud of that impression. If she ever did get around to settling on Alderaan, mocking the condescending stares and smug smirks from the prim and trussed-up faces of the nobility would definitely end up being one of her most favourite past-times.

"Impression?" Imara responded, surprised, "This I've gotta hear. How long d'you think it'll take you to get there?"

"Well, I'm on Nar Shaddaa at the moment, but I have some stuff to clear up with my crew before I leave." She explained, checking up on the duty roster. Risha had already told her she would need to stay on Nar Shaddaa for a while to work through some contacts, but had also made it clear that Raya needn't stay there with her. Corso would be spending the day with his cousin tomorrow, and she doubted Bowdaar would find any fun in the mountains of Alderaan, so she took note of which things would have to be taken care of tonight before they all separated the following day. After a moment of consideration, she finally responded with, "I can be there tomorrow morning."

"Crew?" Imara repeated, her brows arching, "Since when? I thought you wanted your space." The other captain burst out into laughter at her own poor humour while Raya gave her a rather unladylike snort and another shrug.

"Well, you know me." She responded, "I'm full of surprises."

"No kidding. How many people have found that out the hard way?" Imara asked before waving off the response, "I don't even wanna know."

"Oh, like you're one to talk." Raya scoffed, shaking her head. It was no secret to her that the woman had exceeded all of the galaxy's expectations. Her fellow smuggler had managed to escape an Imperial slave camp in the heart of Dromund Kaas, and the woman's skill with a blaster was matched by none but Raya herself. Being a woman, however, came with its own set of expectations. None of which either of the two smugglers measured into. How many times had a man threatened Imara, only to be shown the grave consequences of his actions at the unfriendly end of the redhead's blaster?

The woman gave her a devilish smirk, "Yeah. Ain't it great?"

Raya answered her with a broad grin, "One of the many things I love about this job."

"So, tomorrow morning, Right?" Imara confirmed, her head tilting slightly to the right, "I'll see you there. Bring your new crew if you want."

"They got their own plans." Raya explained with a shake of her head, "'Sides, I'm not really taken with the idea of them seeing me humiliate myself on the slopes of Alderaan."

Imara shrugged, "Their loss. I think you'll do just fine. You can't do this job without a good sense of balance."

Raya glared at her, but the easy banter and her joy at speaking to her old friend again had removed any malice that would have been in it otherwise. Stars, she had missed their banter. It had been so long since they'd last gotten together. "If I end up breakin' somethin', I'm blaming you."

Her friend simply held up a medpac, "No worries. And no excuses." There was a sideways tilt to her mouth when she added, "See you there, Ray. Good fortune!"

Raya's eyes rolled again in response, "Yeah, yeah, see you there."

The other smuggler gave her a single wave before finally cutting the call, and the comm. room was plunged into dimness again as the holo winked out of view. Raya made her rounds through the ship, looking for Corso and the others.

After informing Risha that the _Legacy_ would be unavailable the following day, but they could all be reached by holo if needed, she came upon Corso and Bowdaar in the mess hall. Her co-pilot was sitting at a table with one of his blasters gutted, the parts spread out before him, likely piecing together an upgrade. Bowdaar was standing in his usual spot by the counter with his back to her, making something to eat. He growled a greeting to her over his shoulder as she made her way over to the table, nodding to him in response. Corso smiled at her while she took a seat across from him at the table, and she returned his grin.

"Hey, Captain. What can I do for ya?"

"Hey, Corso. Can we talk for a minute?"

"'Course." He responded, "What's on your mind?"

"There's been a change in plan." She explained, "I just got a call from an old friend who'd like to meet me on Alderaan tomorrow. So why don't you drop me off there in the morning and take the _Legacy_ to Coruscant to meet with your cousin?"

Corso's eyebrows lifted in surprise, "Really, Captain? You trust me with your ship enough that you'd let me drop you off and fly to another planet without you?"

Her stomach twisted into a knot, "Well, when you put it like _that_, it doesn't sound quite as nice." She let out a sigh, forcing herself to stay relaxed, "But yes, I trust you." Holding up a finger to point at him, her tone became harsh and demanding, "As long as you don't get a single scratch on her, and have her back in the spaceport by nightfall. Do _not_ make me regret it, flyboy."

"I won't." He assured her, "I promise."

"How 'bout you, Bowie?" She asked the wookiee from across the kitchen, "I get the feeling you're not really into the whole snow and mountains thing. You wanna stay here on Nar Shaddaa with Risha? I'm sure she could always use someone watching her back with everyone who wants her dead."

"I would be happy to." Was his growled response.

"Great." She smiled.

"I'll have the _Legacy _back by the time you're done, Captain." Corso responded, "I promise. I don't wanna get too involved in Rona's life while she's still with the Black Suns."

"Sure thing." Raya replied, nodding her understanding.

* * *

><p>Corso pulled the Dace Legacy into Pallista spaceport the next day with Raya standing behind him, a hand on his shoulder as she observed the landing platform with the barest hint of a smile on her face. She wished him luck and gave him a quick wink before stepping out of the airlock with a glance around at her surroundings. Satisfied, she strode purposefully out of the hangar and into the lobby as the<em> Legacy <em>lifted off without her, once again having to remind herself that it was _Corso_ flying, not some slimy thief who had no intention of bringing her beloved starship back to her. Her stomach flopped just the same, but she shoved it down. Corso had worked very hard to gain her trust, and she knew as well as he did that this was the ultimate test in finding out whether her claims that she trusted him were entirely genuine. If she was honest, she didn't even know the answer to that herself.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a bolstering breath before opening them again and looking around until she spotted a familiar face. Imara stood to greet her with a broad grin and Raya returned it as she approached the other captain, "Imara. Good to see you again."

"Good to see you too, kid." Imara replied, and Raya shook her head, unable to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she stared, unimpressed up at the other woman.

"Kid? Just 'cause you're all the way up there doesn't mean I'm the kid here. If I'm a kid, _you're_ a baby." Although Raya was four years the woman's senior, Imara seemed forever determined to-quite literally-hold their four-inch height difference over her. It was an old joke between them, old banter that had long been a symbol of their easy camaraderie and quick friendship. Indeed, if Imara had resisted the notion, the older captain would likely have been suspicious.

The other captain simply laughed, "At least this _baby_ isn't afraid of snow."

"I'm not-You-!" Raya sputtered with a fierce shake of her head, "Just 'cause I don't like something doesn't make me afraid of it." She grumbled something about cocky freighter captains and how they had no problem making her do things she didn't want to do before deciding that it would probably be hypocritical of her to say as much aloud, so she let it fall before it got loud enough for the other captain to hear.

Instead of replying further, Imara only laughed harder and started toward the exit, beckoning her to follow, "C'mon Ray. We wanna get there before the sun gets too high."

Raya's only response to that was sarcasm as she thought about all the snow that awaited her at their destination with disgust and moved to catch up with the other woman, "Please excuse me while I rein in my excitement."

"And here I thought _you_ were the adventurous one." The other woman responded as Raya fell into step beside her, "Stars, you're starting to sound like..." Her sentence trailed off and Raya only stared up at her as the other woman drifted into thought for a moment. "Never mind," she added finally, and though she took note of the woman's pause, Raya decided not to question it. She was no stranger to this job and its secrets, and she'd been at it long enough to know that when a smuggler has a secret, it's usually better not to pry. "You've never been skiing?" The other smuggler asked in disbelief, skillfully changing the subject, "Really?"

"Nope." She responded, shaking her head, "And I'm fairly certain I could go my whole life without experiencing it." It wasn't that Raya wasn't active. On the contrary, this job took more than a little athleticism, and she was no stranger to staying in shape. She just had other ways of doing it. Being raised on the streets didn't leave much room for frivolous activity, though she'd never say as much to her counterpart. The circumstances of their lives had brought them into similar situations, but they'd each had very different childhoods, and Raya was glad that at least one of them had known a warm, loving home and a complete family, even if it was short-lived.

"Space that." Imara scoffed, "I intend to actually _live_ while I'm alive."

"Right," Raya replied, unable to retain her sarcasm once again, "because all these years I haven't been living. Thanks for clearin' that up for me."

Imara simply responded with a shrug, and they made their way to the taxi stand in companionable silence, quickly leaving the port in a vehicle destined for Wardpost Landa. Raya settled into her seat and let her eyes fall onto their preferred view of the mountains, her mind wandering back to when she was here with Corso and the others, getting pissed at the nobility and dragged about by the Republic. Stars, was _nothing_ straightforward anymore? When was the last time she'd been given a job, and it was carried out with no interruptions, no side-jobs, no scheming ship-thieves getting in her way? It felt like an eternity.

"I love this planet." Imara mused from her position beside Raya as they relaxed in their seats. The younger captain's hands laced behind her head, "Get rid of the giant walking bugs and the giant walking egos, and it'd be perfect. I almost didn't mind half the jobs those damned nobles always needed done for them."

Raya was inclined to agree, when the latter part of her friend's statement dawned on her. Surprised, she pulled her eyes away from the passing scenery to meet the other woman's gaze, "You too? I had some errands here not too long ago."

Imara's visible eye widened in mock-affront, "And you didn't call me? What was so damned critical you had to keep it to yourself?"

Had Raya gotten to Alderaan just a couple of weeks later, the two friends would likely have run into each other at some point given the nature of the tasks they then shared with one another. It was a wonder how the Republic ever got any work done themselves, considering how often they relied on outside help like that of the two smugglers. The duo spent a great deal of the trip sharing past experiences from the planet, and laughing unabashedly at the childish nature of the nobility, until finally, the taxi pulled up to Wardpost Landa and they stepped out to make their way to the mountain range that was their destination.

They were momentarily delayed by Imperial sentries along the way, and Raya wondered how to get past without alerting them and getting involved in a battle they had neither the time nor the patience for. They were here on vacation, damn it, and she was not exactly thrilled with the idea of getting shot at by Imperials, regardless of her unmitigated hatred for them. But they proved no match for Imara, who simply activated her stealth field and knocked them unconscious before they were even aware of her presence.

Raya watched the proceedings with an approving nod of her head and thoughts of _Why don't I have one of those?_ crossing her mind before the two of them made good use of their time making faces at the downed Imperials before moving on, their raucous laughter following them into the distance.

Their eventual arrival to their destination had Imara pulling out two pairs of retractable skis and Raya trudging through the snow with an indignant huff. The younger woman handed a set to Raya, who accepted it with no shortage of disdain evident in her face, berating herself and cursing her friend for getting her into this the whole way up the slope, stopping only to strap on the skis and other such necessities. She felt like a child with the way Imara coached her in the basics of sliding down a steep death-slope on nothing but two long, thin pieces of plasteel, and a pair of flimsy _sticks_ keeping her from face-planting into the snow... which was still a very real possibility. She would never say as much, but the looks other folk gave her (which were quite possibly over-exaggerated in her mind), and the incredulous glances she'd gotten from Imara when questioned about her unfamiliarity with the sport gnawed at her, and served only to remind her of a childhood she didn't have. She knew it was ridiculous. She was well aware that many people her age were just as new to the activity as she, but it didn't stop the thoughts from plaguing her, determined as she was to keep them buried.

Before long, however, the unfamiliar activity grew more... familiar, as she became more comfortable in the skis and with the motions of the sport. As they moved faster while she grew more comfortable, she was even beginning to have fun, loath as she was to admit it (and she never would).

The morning wore on and Raya reached the bottom of the slope one final time behind a smiling Imara, the joy in her friend's face threatening to tear a smile from her herself. She fought it though, as she came up beside the woman, masking her features with a glare that had become worlds less threatening since Imara had first brought up the sport to her the day before. The sun was high in the sky by this time, and Raya could feel sweat dripping from her nape to creep down the back of her neck and into her overly-puffy coat to tickle her spine. Stars, she missed the freedom of her habitual brown trenchcoat, and longed to be rid of the constricting short jacket she wore in preparation for the cold mountain temperature. "Don't look at me like that," she grumbled, staring at Imara with that too-tame glare, "I'm wet and cold, and yet somehow sweating my ass off. Are we done here?"

"Yeah, we should probably get going." Imara replied, catching her breath, "It's starting to get too warm for us to be here much longer, anyway."

Seizing the opportunity for warmth and comfort, she lifted an eyebrow, "If I'm not mistaken, you owe me a drink."

Imara was silent for a long time, seeming to drift into thought as Raya stared on in curiosity. Looking up at the sun, she frowned, and Raya wondered what had caused the sudden change in her friend's disposition until she finally responded with, "One thing first," before pulling off her skis and the rest of her gear. Her eyes narrowing, Raya did the same and watched as Imara put their gear away in her pack before reaching into her jacket and pulling out a small box, holding it out to her.

Confused, Raya hesitated for a moment, her hand hovering over the box as she made eye-contact with the woman before Imara practically yelled at her, "Well, take it!"

Raya's head tilted as she took the box and unwrapped it, glancing up at her friend for any kind of hint of just what kind of game Imara could possibly be playing until her brow shot up in recognition of the object inside. With a slight gasp, she removed a beaded bracelet she hadn't seen in sixteen years from the box. The image of a heavy purse falling into her hands flashed through her mind. Memories of running breathless from her robbed victim as she tried to escape with the goods and discovering the beads inside when she got clear. Seeing the bracelet made from them proudly displayed on her sister's wrist for the world to observe. The memories stirred in her mind like sand in a swirling wake. The bracelet had been exposed to the passage of time since those days so long ago. The braided nylon string used to create it had frayed, and she could see clear signs of repair in some areas. The colours, bright at the time of its creation, had since dimmed to a fraction of their prior vibrancy. It was the creative work of a child trying to impress her older sister, and its keeping throughout the years was evidently a strong value of a slave trying to remember her past life and the family she'd left behind.

Her eyes stung with tears that she refused to allow, and she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before she spoke without looking up from the bracelet in her hands, "Where... did you get this?"

Imara was quiet for a moment before she replied, "This is what I think it is?"

"Did you find her?" Raya asked after she nodded, allowing a tiny blossom of hope to rise within her chest, and she finally looked up with wide eyes, "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"So it really was Minara." The woman muttered through her fingers as her hand rose to cover her mouth.

"It had to be." She responded, refusing to allow her hope to be affected by the sad cast of her friend's eye, "Tell me where she is. I have to find her!"

"I... she..."

Imara wouldn't meet her eyes, and there was something about her friend's gaze that burned a truth through her that she refused to acknowledge even then. _No. _

"Ray, I'm sorry. Bloody stars, I am _so_ sorry. I really did try to bring her back to you. I couldn't. I just... I couldn't."

"What... what are you saying?" Raya asked, even as the hope had already extinguished itself within her, "Is she in danger?" She held up the bracelet, her motions getting frantic as she resisted the implications her friend was making, "If you have this, you had to have seen her."

It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. She had not wasted the last ten years of her life in a relentless search for her sister only to come up empty. Her sister was strong. She was resourceful. She was everything Raya had ever wanted to be as a child. Her sister had taught her how to _survive. _She couldn't be dead. Minara had promised her that everything would be all right. She'd promised, damn it! She wasn't supposed to be dead!

Her inability to process the information had her responding in anger, and she lashed out at her friend even though she knew she shouldn't, "She had to have given you this, so _tell me where she is!_"

"I was pretty sure the person I found was your sister." Imara explained, refusing to meet her gaze, "This was on her. Ray... please, you really don't want to know the rest. Trust me."

_What in the Void is that supposed to mean? _She could only stare off into the distance as the implications dawned on her, and she felt a lead weight settle in her stomach. Bile rose up into her throat, and she closed her eyes, fighting to keep it down. Her determination to push down any emotion that threatened to spill forth had an overwhelming numbness washing over her as she lost herself to thought.

It was her friend's voice that snapped her attention back to the here and now when Imara gently changed the subject, "I'm pretty sure you need that drink right about now."

It took several moments for Raya's mind to catch up before her implants ached with the repeated bunching of her jaw, and she simply nodded.

Raya's thoughts were so far away that she had no recollection of how she ended up in another taxi destined for the House Organa compound, but she shook herself back to reality once she realized she'd been silent for the better part of an hour. They made their way into the cantina and headed for a table in the corner when she finally spoke, her voice achingly calm and unemotional, "Y'know, part of me always knew it was a possibility." The rationality and logic that Fellin had drilled into her during their time together was a prominent feature of their conversations regarding the whereabouts of her sister. He'd been supportive right up to the end of his life, but he always warned her about the dangers of false hope, and she had no doubt that he'd lost all hope for her sister's survival early in the search, though he'd never said as much to her face. "I guess I should've been prepared for this."

"Believe me," Imara replied, understanding evident in her eye, "I know how hard it is to lose family."

"That reminds me..." Raya glanced over as her friend continued, the woman's mouth pulling into a hesitant smile as she changed the subject again, "you said you have a crew. What in all the galaxy would make a loner like you take on a crew? I mean, you said he's handsome, but that was never enough before. What happened?"

Raya thought for a moment, trying to recall exactly how Corso had gone from being a farmboy hick straight off the Mantellian ronto fields to being her co-pilot, to being her dear friend, to being her lover. "I don't... really know." She shrugged, then felt an unbidden smirk pulling her lips upward, "He's just... different."

The look her shrewd friend gave her as they moved to sit spoke of far too much knowledge behind that one green eye and the woman grinned, "Uh huuh. You found yourself a man, didn't you?"

Raya almost missed the chair as she inelegantly plopped into it with an indignant huff, "I—he's not—you just—argh! Stop that!"

"Really?" Imara's eye widened in surprise, "I was just teasing ya. You seriously went and fell for someone?" Throwing back her head, the other captain erupted into obnoxious laughter.

Raya's eyes narrowed in a glower as she slumped down in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

A waitress arrived to take their orders and Imara managed to get her laughter under wraps before continuing, "I guess it was bound to happen sometime. It just caught me by surprise."

"Tell me about it." Raya responded with a rather unladylike snort, "I didn't even realize it until it practically smacked me in the face."

"A smooth one, hm?" Imara's eyebrows lifted as the waitress returned with their drinks, "You better watch it around that type."

Raya simply gave her a sardonic twist of her lips as they drank. She took a massive gulp, swallowing it one go and shut her eyes tight for a moment. Opening them, they then drew down aimlessly into what was left of her drink, looking past the reflection of her tortured eyes as she was pulled away into deep thought once again, the knowledge of the day sinking in before her friend pulled her back to the present, resulting in her taking yet another large gulp. They continued like that, and she found herself getting more relaxed with the alcohol colouring her cheeks and allowing her an escape for a short while before she would be undoubtedly faced with reality once again.

As the afternoon wore into evening, they spent a great deal of time reminiscing and exchanging stories of their rather exciting line of work. Fortunately, they had quite a lot of catching up to do, and it wasn't difficult to keep her mind off the things she didn't want to think about. Imara seemed determined to keep her mind occupied with things other than her sister's death, and Raya was thankful for it.

Finally, Raya emptied the contents of her cup for what had to be near the dozenth round, before slamming the mug down onto the table and leaning back in her seat with a pleasantly satisfied grin. Apparently, her behaviour was not considered "appropriate" among the trussed-up nobility and it drew the attention of one such... _gentleman_ in the corner. _Pfft. That man wouldn't know a gentleman if one came up and pulled out his chair for him. Moron'd probably berate him for "getting fingerprints on his chair" or something. _She snorted to herself at the amusing thought as she met the man's eyes and he shot her an irritated glare.

Raya was too drunk to care. Hell, she didn't care when was sober, though she probably would have been less likely to erupt into her nobility impression, perfected to a tee. Winking at Imara across the table, she puffed out her chest and threw on the accent that had had Corso roaring in laughter only a couple months prior. "Oh, those spacers over there." She exclaimed, gesturing dramatically with her hands, "Probably spend days _languishing about_ in a filthy ship, surrounded by vermin and who _knows _what else! Such obnoxious behaviour. No manners, these spacers!"

She eventually had her friend laughing herself to tears on the other side of the table until the other woman decided to try the impression herself between gasps of air as she attempted to regain her breath, "Wait... wait..." Raya listened as she performed a surprisingly good impression of the haughty accent herself, "What is such lowly trash doing in here, anyway?"

Said noble had apparently grown tired of their ceaseless ribbing, so he leapt to his feet with a sneer and abruptly vacated the cantina to echoes of the women's cacophonous laughter.

Predictably, the bartender was not happy at the loss of a paying customer, and made his way over to them with a seething glare, "I beg your pardon, ladies. If you continue to ridicule my clients, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Not to go out without leaving a lasting impression (pun intended), Raya leapt to her feet and slapped her hand to a hip jutted out to an exaggerated degree, "Do you know who I am?" She asked, punctuating every syllable as she answered her own question, "I am _Captain _Raya Dace. There probably isn't a stinking noble in here who doesn't owe me some favour, so the least you can do is let me have a drink in peace."

The bartender simply nodded to a man built like a walking _tank_ and he approached them with an expression that clearly stated their presence was not to be tolerated any longer. She watched as Imara held up a placating hand and didn't resist when her friend took her by the elbow before heading for the exit.

Raya risked one glance back at the patrons of the cantina with a smirk to survey her handiwork. Some of the patrons (most likely middle-class) were staring on with smirks of their own. But most of them were nobility, and had fixated her with scathing glares, and she couldn't resist pushing the luck smugglers were so known for just a little further. She gave an abrupt halt at the door, and whirled around to give the patrons a grand formal bow (quite nearly falling over as she did so), snapped off a sloppy salute before finally slurring her last words to the cantina, "Ladies, gents, and giant walking egos! With that masterful display, I bid you all farewell and good night!"

Imara chuckled beside her as they finally left the cantina, supporting Raya's weight with an arm over her shoulder while they walked, and before long, they were back at the _Legacy_'s hangar. She was distantly pleased and struck with affection as she realized that Corso had made good on his promise to be back with the ship before she was finished, but the alcohol in her system had not afforded her a whole lot of clarity to focus on much more than that. Her heart swelled at the sight of her beloved ship back in her hands, safe and sound though, before Corso stepped out of the hatch and met them at the ramp. She tossed him an unrestrained smile as he simply looked at them with a surprised lift of his brows, and thanked Imara for getting her safely back to the ship. Reaching out to take her arm, he slung it over his shoulder to support her weight.

Imara, now free of her burden, unabashedly looked him up and down before tossing Raya a grin, "You're right. He _is_ cute."

She responded with a conclusive nod, lightly tapping his chest twice with her free hand as she looked up at him, smiling broadly at the blush spreading over his cheeks and down his neck.

"Have a good one, Ray." Imara said as she turned to leave, "See ya around."

It hit her that she may not see her dear friend for another long stretch of time, so she flung one of her arms out to wave wildly at her, and was dimly aware of Corso's free arm shooting out to regain his lost balance at the sudden movement, his feet stumbling beneath him. "Keep in touch!"

"Sure thing, kid."

Raya's cheerful expression darkened to an indignant scowl at her friend's retreating back while Corso gave her a confused look out of the corner of her eye, "Kid?"

She swung her gaze up to his face as he led her into the ship, "It's 'cause I look little an' helpless an' cute," she grumbled before her mouth broke into a becoming smile, "an' you just wanna wrap your arms around me."

He looked no less confused to hear that coming from her, and her expression twisted with disgust as she refused to maintain the illusion, "Ugh, I can't even say that _jokingly_."

He chuckled warmly, "Now _there's_ the Ray I know." The door to the Captain's quarters slid open effortlessly, and the two hobbled inside. "Call me crazy, but ain't it a little early in the day to be... well, loaded?"

She shrugged, yawning as she stripped the hated overstuffed jacket from her shoulders. She tossed it carelessly into a corner before making her way to the bed, "Felt like the thing to do after findin' out my sister's dead."

The heavy silence from Corso's side of the room fell like a lead weight. Had she been looking at him, she would have seen the abject horror and surprise in his gaze and the empathetic fall of his broad shoulders at the news. As it was, however, she was suddenly exhausted by the day's events, and punctuated it by flopping down on the bed without bothering to remove even her boots and gloves.

She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	15. Biting the Bullet

_Author's Note: _

Heyyooo! Back with another chapter before school gets too overwhelming. My usual thanks to my readers, lurkers, followers, reviewers, etc. Your encouragement is what keeps me at the top of my game here, and I'm so glad you're still with me.

Enjoy!

-BB

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Fifteen: **_Biting the Bullet_

When Raya awoke again it was the middle of the night. Her gloves, blaster belt, socks, and boots had been removed, her hair was down, and she'd been covered up in the blankets with a familiar muscled arm draped over her side. She had no idea how long Corso had been there with her, but she couldn't bring herself to wake him. So she carefully extricated herself from his side and rose out of the bed with a sigh, squinting at the tiny sliver of light intruding from the crack beneath the door to the hall.

Feeling a strange loss of purpose, she keyed the door console, glancing back at the sleeping Corso to ensure he was still asleep before stepping barefoot into the hall and leaning heavily on the wall. Keeping her eyes shut against the light driving nails into her skull, she felt her way to the cockpit, dimmed the lights in the room, and sank heavily into the captain's chair with her head in her hands. It was the first time she had been truly alone since discovering her sister's death, and the full force of the news was finally hitting her. There was no alcohol to distract her this time, and her grief was ten years overdue.

Ten years of Raya's life had been wasted searching for someone she would never find, and now that she knew the reality of the situation, she had to figure out what came next.

Her sister was gone. Dead. Raya didn't even know what happened, but from what she'd been led to believe from what Imara told her, it wasn't a pleasant end to her sister's life. She felt nausea stir the contents of her stomach just thinking about it. She would find out the truth, one day, and if she ever discovered someone was responsible for ending Minara's life, there would be no place to escape from her vengeful wrath. She'd been beyond the furthest reaches of space and returned alive. There was _nowhere_ that bastard could hide from her.

She let out a shaky sigh.

She should have seen this coming. A part of her had always known it was a possibility, but she'd refused to entertain the notion until she knew for sure, one way or another. Her sister had sacrificed everything, even her freedom, to ensure Raya would be safe. Raya had been too young to even know what that meant at the time. Her sister had promised that everything would be all right, and as a child, Ray had believed her. But it wasn't all right. She was alive and her sister wasn't, and that _wasn't _all right. Minara had broken her promise, and Raya hated her for it. But she knew that was ridiculous, so she hated herself instead. She hated herself for hating her sister. She hated herself for not being strong enough to drag Minara back into safety with her. For believing her sister knew best. For not knowing what to do. For not knowing how to save them. For believing, after sixteen years, that her sister could possibly still be alive after everyone else she'd looked to for help had given up.

They'd been the smart ones, she realized. The ones who knew better than to give themselves (or her) false hope. But she'd allowed herself to hope anyway. And now she was paying for it.

Did Minara fight to her last breath? Did she serve her masters faithfully, or was she disobedient to a fault? The latter seemed more likely, knowing her sister as she remembered her, but Ray had also dealt with former slaves before. Crossing the line from a slave mentality to independence is a hard move to make. Raya found herself hoping that her older sister had retained her independence, and the fierce determination that was so characteristic of her. That she tried to emulate in herself. But what if that was had gotten her killed in the first place? Was it really better to die with dignity than to live as a slave?

_Yes_. Raya assured herself internally, without hesitation, _If it were you, what would you do?_ _Wouldn't you rather die than give up your independence? Than be forced to give up the freedom that you've worked so damn hard to achieve? Forced to tend hand and foot on some sick, sadistic bastard, or to shake your ass in some seedy cantina without even the benefit of getting paid for it?_

Indeed, the mere thought of doing anything to serve the Empire, no matter what it was, no matter how menial the task, sent ripples of revulsion through her. _If it were me, I'd find a blasted way out._

She wasn't under the naive assumption that every slave constantly dreams of freedom, though. She herself had been the Captain smuggling many an escaped slave to freedom, and when asked, the vast majority of those former slaves didn't even acknowledge the possibility of escape during their enslavement until it was practically dropped into their lap—especially not the ones who'd been enslaved since childhood. Slaves don't dream of the future, as for the majority of them, it is too bleak to focus on. They don't wonder at where they could be, what they could be doing. They live day by day, focused on pleasing their masters with the sole purpose of avoiding punishment.

Slavery is a terrible, horrible, manipulative thing. It messes with the heads of its victims, convinces them that their only worth can be found in how their master sees them. It's why most slaves are taken while they're children. They are taught that they are worthless long before they even come into their own. Long before they are even considering independence. They depend on their masters for survival, because it's all they've ever known. She'd even had a few escapees on board who'd been absolutely convinced that they were in _love_ with their masters. Raya pitied them the most.

But Minara was different. She was a strong and independent young woman, taken while right at the threshold of adolescence. The slavers likely thought she was younger, due to the small stature both she and Raya shared. Minara had been snatched up just as she was coming into her own, and Raya knew she wouldn't just flat-out give up on her freedom without a fight. It seemed absurd to believe anything less of Mina. So that's what Raya chose to believe.

But _sixteen years_. It had been so long. She didn't even know what her sister looked like when she died. If she'd, like Ray, grown into the lips that had seemed so large to them as children. If she'd lost the baby weight around her cheeks as she herself had. Was she taller than Raya? Shorter?

Ray didn't even have a body to burn. _The only thing I have left of my sister is this damn bracelet_, she mused, lifting the trinket in her palm and studying it closely.

It was a simple thing, several braided nylon strands threaded through a series of mismatched wooden beads. Raya remembered making it herself. Well, most of it. She'd found the beads in a purse that she'd cut when she was eight years old, and wove the strands together herself. She'd given the bracelet to Minara and told her to sell it if she wanted, but the older girl refused, keeping it for herself with a grateful smile, and Raya hadn't argued. If anything, she was pleased.

Fastening the bracelet around her wrist, she swallowed the lump in her throat and toyed with the beads for a moment before rising to her feet to study the galaxy map in an attempt to busy herself by deciding where to go next. But she only succeeded in fiddling aimlessly with the mini holographic representation of the galaxy, sifting through nebulae and planetary systems without any real direction, until she came back to herself with a dejected sigh, running her hands through her hair.

She stood there like that for a moment, her fingers locked together amidst her hair, tugging slightly on her scalp with her eyes still closed until the dam broke. Despite her best efforts, tears spilled forth past her closed eyes and she let out a strangled sob, her body bending forward and her hands pulling from her hair to brace themselves against the surface of the control panel. Her shoulders shook with hopeless sobs, her tears dripping from the tip of her nose to splash against the various buttons and displays.

Raya wasn't certain how much time had passed before she heard familiar footsteps rushed up to meet her. She was still deep in the throes of her emotion, and there was no shutting it off now, so she kept her back to him even as he approached with her name urgent on his lips. His hand crept into view from the corner of her eye, but she couldn't handle that right now, so she snapped at him. "Don't touch me!" She shouted, and he froze, hesitating for a moment before slowly withdrawing his outstretched hand.

"Leave me alone." She muttered through her tears.

"Ray, please—"

"Get out."

She was met with a moment of blessed silence, until he responded with a decisive, "No."

"What did you say?"

"I ain't leaving." He replied, his voice resolute and unmoving, but soft. "Not 'til you talk to me."

"I don't wanna talk, Corso." She muttered, hating the way her voice wavered. _Pathetic_.

"Yeah, you do."

Furious, Raya rounded on him, unleashing the full force of her anger and emotion and his eyes widened when he saw the state of her face. She must have looked like a mess, but she didn't care. She just wanted him out. "What do you know? Don't tell _me _what _I _want!"

"Fine." He responded, "Then let me tell you what I want."

She quieted, begrudgingly thankful for the opportunity to focus on something else as she let her gaze fall to study the wall, wiping her tears away—a wasted effort as they didn't show signs of stopping any time soon.

"I want you to be able to let go around me." He explained, "I want you to know that I'll never judge you. I want you to know how unbelievably sorry I am."

She threw up a hand, her brow furrowing in disgust, "Don't pity me."

"_Pity_ you?" He echoed, his own eyes narrowing in anger now as he took a step towards her with a shake of his head, "You think I don't understand what it's like to lose everything? To not know where to go next because everything you've ever known's been ripped out from under you? Everything you've ever loved? I'm not here because I pity you! I'm here because I love you, Ray, and because I understand! I'm tryin' to be here for you, to let you know you're not alone in this, but if you keep pushin' me away maybe it's better if I just leave."

He turned from her, and she held out a hand for a moment before allowing it to drop to her side, letting out a sound that was somewhere between a frustrated sigh and a sob. He only wanted to help, and she couldn't fault him for that. She knew he cared for her. Hell, he _loved _her, and she distantly realized this was the first time he'd actually told her as much. She wondered if he realized he'd said it, or if it had just slipped out. Either way, truth be told, she didn't want him to leave. On the contrary, she wanted his arms around her, but she didn't wish him to see her like this, "Corso, I'm sorry. I'm just..."

"Grieving?" He interrupted when she didn't continue, his back to her.

She nodded though he couldn't see it. Silence fell for a moment before she heard him sigh and he took the opportunity to step back up to her, placing his hands on either side of her jaw. His thumbs wiped the errant tears from her cheeks as he coaxed her gaze up to meet his own, "I know. I've been there, same as you. I couldn't be there for you when you lost Fellin, so let me be here for you now." He said, and the anger completely faded from his face to show her the undying love and affection she was so used to seeing there, "Whatever you need."

She was still for a moment. But then, she stepped closer to him before she was even aware her feet were moving. His arms closed around her and she secluded herself into his warm embrace, her hands laying flat against his chest while her forehead pressed into the crook of his neck. Feeling his lips on the top of her head, Raya allowed herself to relax in the arms of the man she'd come to love, closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. Her helpless sobs had abated to a slow procession of tears that darkened the material of his shirt, but he didn't show any signs of caring.

He held her like that for a while- neither knew exactly how long. Eventually, her tears stopped flowing and she allowed herself to relax against the solid expanse of Corso's chest with his arms securely around her.

"Tell me about her." He prodded gently, moving to sit in the co-pilot's seat with her sitting across his lap.

She was quiet for full minute, deep in thought. For a long time, she debated telling him anything until she decided it couldn't hurt and finally leaned over to nestle her face in the crook of his neck again, "Mina was everything I wanted to be when I grew up. Brave, bold and resourceful. She was smart. Knew what she wanted and exactly how to go about getting it. She taught me how to pick-pocket and how to survive in G-17, and was no stranger to the more questionable sides of the law. But she had clear standards and a set of lines that she would never cross. She tried real hard to be a good role model for me." She fell silent again for a moment. Corso sat quietly as he listened, "She was more serious than I am- had to grow up fast in order to look out for me. Dry, deadpan sense of humour. Real sarcastic at times, but she always had a protective streak and loved kids. Hated animals, though."

His shoulder shook with her as she let out a quiet breath of laughter, "I remember one day, a gizka followed me back to our shanty. I was about six, or seven. Begged her to let me keep it."

She heard Corso chuckle a little as he took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers, "Did she?"

She laughed outright, "No. Didn't stop it from following me around, though. Called it Mr. Hops."

He looked down at her, an eyebrow lifted upwards incredulously, "Mr. Hops?"

"You named your favourite blaster Torchy." She responded, glowering up at him, "Besides, I was seven."

They both laughed together before falling back into companionable silence until Raya looked up at him, meeting his eyes. She saw nothing but love in his gaze and as bad as she wished she could say the words to him, as he'd so easily said to her earlier, the words just wouldn't seem to come.

Instead, her mind wandered to what exactly she was supposed to do next. Her primary motivation in life had always been to find her sister. It was the reason she became a smuggler in the first place. The smile faded from her face as she looked away and studied the galaxy map with a sigh, "Now what?"

"Whadd'you mean?" He replied, looking down at her in confusion, and her brow furrowed.

"These last few weeks've been nice, but I think I'm done with the civilian life." She explained, "At least for now. I need to get my mind back on work and away from... this."

He nodded, then lifted his shoulders in a shrug, "In that case, I dunno. I'm sure there's always more jobs out there. Rogun still wants you dead, after all, and I'm sure the Republic is always in need of some freelancer help. They didn't wanna leave you alone back on Alderaan."

Raya looked up and reached over to the galaxy map, setting a course for Nar Shaddaa, "Let's pick up the others before we make any decisions. Who knows? Maybe Risha'll have a job for us."

He nodded and she looked up at him, just quietly studying his face for a moment before she spoke, "Thank you, Corso."

He grinned, "Anything you need, Captain, I'm here."

A breathy laugh escaped her briefly before a little smile pulled her lips to the side.

"I know."


	16. Duty Calls

_**Author's Note**_

Hello folks! I should be studying for a midterm right now, but this was driving me to distraction, so I decided to finally just get it out of the way so I could concentrate on studying. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

Raya's life is about to get a lot more interesting, and there are a lot of unanswered questions that will be derailing the story slightly in the future, as I'm sure you're aware. It's going to be quite a ride.

As always, my humble thanks goes out to my readers/reviewers/lurkers/etc. I'm always genuinely surprised when I get new story followers after nearly a month of inaction, and I can't thank you guys enough for liking Raya's story enough to follow along on her misadventures.

Enjoy!

- BB

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><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>Chapter Sixteen: **Duty Calls

The moment Risha stepped back onto the _Legacy_ with Bowdaar at her heels, Raya knew by the look on her face that she could tell something had happened. The woman was too perceptive by half. Thankfully, she didn't bring it up, and just went straight to her post in the engine room to make sure everything was still in working order after her short time away. You'd think she'd been away for months with the way she fussed over the mechanics, when it was really just a couple of days. The younger woman was getting just as attached to the ship as the Captain was, and a smile came to Raya's face as she let her hand linger on the hull before stepping up the ramp herself. _You always did have a way with people, old girl._

Raya met up with Risha again later in the engine room.

"Well, Captain," the younger woman said as she entered the room, "You didn't mess her up too bad in the time I was gone."

Raya rolled her eyes, "Y'know, I _did _spend seven years flying solo with the _Legacy _before you came around." She responded, her mouth cracking into a smirk, leaning against the doorway as her arms crossed over her chest, "It's only been a few days! Just 'cause I'm paying you to be my mechanic doesn't mean I don't know how to take care of my ship."

"Please," Risha argued with a scoff, "this bucket-of-bolts was barely holding itself together by the time I got my hands on it."

"That so?"

She nodded, "Then I came along and brought with me a shiny new hyperdrive... among other things."

Raya cocked an eyebrow, "Was I not the one who brought back the hyperdrive?"

"Yeah, but if I wasn't here you never would have found out about it."

"She was flyin' fine!"

"She was flying, I'll give you that." The younger woman smirked, "Doesn't mean she was flying fine."

Raya glared at the woman, then turned towards the engine with a wink, "Don't you listen to her." She said, her voice pitching upwards like that of a mother speaking to her child, "She's just jealous she doesn't have a ship of her own to spoil."

"And now you're talking to the ship." Risha responded calmly.

Raya looked back at the woman with a look of mock surprise, "You've been with us—what?—over eight months now? And you're only _just now_ starting to question my sanity?"

"You're kidding, right?" Risha asked, staring at her incredulously before the shaking her head as the smile faded from her face, "Is there a reason you came in here, Captain? Or did you just decide the perfect time to bother me would be just as I was settling back in?"

Raya chuckled to herself, "I was just wondering if you'd heard anything about a job lately. I'm gettin' restless for some action."

Risha shook her head with a shrug, "You were on vacation, and I had a lot of things to work through with the whole _queen _thing. But I can check it out. I'll probably have something worth looking at by tomorrow at the latest."

"Do that." Raya said, nodding as she turned to leave, "Let me know what you find."

"Sure thing. And Captain?"

"Yeah?" Raya looked back at her over her shoulder as she stopped.

"Something happened while I was gone, didn't it?" She asked. "Something big."

"Yeah." Raya responded after a moment, silently debating with herself about whether she wanted to talk about the news she received from Imara before finally coming to the conclusion that she most certainly did not. "Corso finally spilled the beans." She said instead, turning away from the woman again.

Risha chuckled slightly, "Well, it's about damn time. I was beginning to wonder if he had it in him." There was no doubt in Raya's mind that her mechanic knew she was holding something back, but thankfully she didn't mention it. If she was that curious, she could ask Corso, but Raya doubted the woman would go so far to satisfy her curiosity. And even then, there was little chance Corso would say anything about it, given the way she was so guarded about her past, even though Raya didn't really mind if Corso said anything to her. Raya just didn't want to be the one to tell her. If there was anyone who valued secrecy, however, it was Risha, and Raya was confident the woman would respect her need for discretion. At least for now.

Raya looked back at her with the sincerest smile she could manage under the circumstances before she turned and left the room without another word.

As it turned out, she didn't need to wait for Risha to find her another job, because they later received a call just as Raya was overlooking a game of cards between Bowdaar and Corso in the kitchen. Risha patched it through to the intercom, where a vaguely familiar face projected into the open air of the kitchen.

"Captain!" The older man greeted warmly as she walked into his field of view, "What a pleasure to see your lovely face again."

Raya squinted at the holographic image; not out of any failure to recognize the man, but out of slight annoyance at his blunt and constant flirtations. She'd dealt with the man only briefly, and while he was achingly charming, and indeed handsome, he was practically old enough to be her father, and while she had no qualms about age differences in general, she personally just wasn't into it. Not only that, the man was unpredictable. He had goals. Very specific ones, though she had no idea what they were. Only that he was the kind of guy who put up a front, and she'd learned a long time ago not to trust anyone with a sabaac face as good as her own.

She could tell a lot about a person from how they played cards. Some people were too confident to the point of simple nonchalance in the belief that if they acted completely normal regardless of their hand, their opponent wouldn't suspect a thing. Often, those people were too focused on the big picture and missed the tiny details. Others, like herself, were skilled cheaters who made their own luck. These people often escaped tough situations simply flying by the seat of their pants. Some, like Darmas, were downright stone-faced, and experts at hiding their tells. These people knew their weaknesses and exactly how to disguise them. They often hid behind a skillfully built wall of lies, and _that _was what made her so uneasy around him. Truth be told, the only reason she'd won their game all those months ago back on Coruscant was due to a stroke of massive luck (and some meticulously perfected cheating strategies). She'd schooled herself in hiding all of her tells, but try as she might, she could find nothing even resembling as much in the older man, and the implications of that made her keep her distance.

"Captain?"

She shook herself, "Yeah! Uh—sorry. Darmas Pollaran, right? From Coruscant. What's this about?"

"I'm so flattered you remember. You've come so far since then... with _very_ little to work with." He replied, "I have a business proposition for you. But I'd rather discuss it face-to-face. Come to Port Nowhere, Captain—floating cantina not far from you. I'll send the specs."

And with that, the holo was gone.

Risha, having entered the room during the conversation, pulled out a datapad to which the specs had been received. She studied them for a moment before stepping up to her, "Seems like a safe location, Captain. But we need to be careful." She explained, "The Imperials are getting more gutsy. There's nowhere in Republic space that's safe anymore."

Raya just shrugged, "Sounds like just another day to me. I don't think 'the Empire is dangerous' exactly makes headlines."

"I'm serious." Risha responded, her brows furrowing in irritation, "I caught a signature when were on Nar Shaddaa that looked like the Voidwolf."

Raya was about to make another smart comment, but judging by the look on Risha's face, she gathered that this Imperial in particular was not your everyday moff. "Someone I should know about?"

Her mechanic's head shook in disgust, "The man's a monster. Grand Admiral Harridax Kirill," she explained, "former slaver, scourge of the Outer Rim, and all-around charmer."

The Captain let out a sardonic chuckle, "Sounds like a peach."

"My father always kept a close eye on him." Risha continued, "The Voidwolf's got delusions of taking over the underworld, handing it to the Empire, wrapped and ribboned."

Bowdaar's soft grumble sounded from behind her, "_We hear his name even on Kashyyyk._"

Raya shook her head decisively, "Nuh-uh. The underworld's _my _domain, and I don't answer to _no one_." Her expression twisted to disgust, "Least of all a former _slaver_."

Risha's eyes went wide and she took a step closer, "Captain, take my advice. You can't handle this guy. He's got the majority of the Empire at his back and you have _no idea _what he's capable of."

Much as she wanted to argue, Raya knew the woman was right. She might be the best shot in the galaxy, but she only had two blasters. This guy wasn't just your run-of-the-mill Imperial carrying out orders passed down the Imperial food chain. This guy _was _the Imperial food chain. This guy had an _army._ So she let out a dejected sigh, nodding her head in resignation. _I hate slavers._

"Well," Corso chimed in, stepping up behind her, "then let's hit Port Nowhere fast and see if we can't get out of his way."

* * *

><p>It was in the cockpit later that Corso noticed the flaw in his captain's armour while she stared at the ethereal blue tunnel of hyperspace swirling around them without really looking. Her mind was a million miles away, he knew. Thinking about her sister, most likely. Though she appeared relaxed with her feet propped up onto the control panel as per usual, he could see that she was tense.<p>

They hadn't spent a night together since she received the news. That was no surprise, and he couldn't blame her for wanting to be alone. But she wasn't sleeping, and he knew better than to bring it up whenever he walked into the lounge or the cockpit early in the morning after waking and saw that she was already up. She would just pass it off as nothing to avoid worrying him. But she was a woman who quite enjoyed her sleep and that she was awake before him was unnerving in itself. Nightmares, probably. He'd certainly been there. And the fact that she didn't actually know _how _her sister died must have been gnawing at her. He didn't want to imagine the nightmares, and he had no doubt that it was only a matter of time before she started to investigate the circumstances of her sister's death.

The opportunity to get back to work couldn't have come at a better time, he mused. Raya needed to get her mind on other things, or the news about her sister would drive her crazy.

_It still might_, he thought, his brows furrowing in concern. He vowed then, as the ship jolted out of hyperspace and he pulled it into dock at Port Nowhere, to be there for her when it all came to blows. It was the least he could do for the woman he loved.


	17. A New Deal

_Author's Note: _

So, here we are in Act 2! Things are about to get a lot more interesting for our quirky smuggler and her merry band of misfits. Glad you're all along for the ride. :)

As always, huge thank you to all of my reviewers/lurkers/followers/fav-ers/readers/etc. You guys keep me writing, and I can't thank you enough for your support. Also, there are a couple Han Solo homages in there, where I just couldn't resist because the smuggler of SWTOR is pretty much the Han Solo of the Old Republic. Keep your eyes open for them.

Disclaimer: _I don't own Star Wars, or Star Wars: The Old Republic. These lovely franchises are the property of LucasArts (Farewell, sweet prince. You shall be missed.) and BioWare._

Enjoy,

- BB

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>Chapter Seventeen: **A New Deal

For a floating cantina in the middle of nowhere, the aptly-named Port Nowhere was a surprisingly nice place. Characteristic of the high-class Pollaran, he supposed. The patronage was that of spacers, mostly. People of questionable intent. Seemed like a happy home for Raya and her merry band of misfits. Folks like Raya were the only people who could really reach the cantina in the first place.

So Corso shouldn't have been surprised when a man wearing medium armour and a blaster at his belt stepped into their path and addressed Raya directly, "Captain! I never thought we'd see you here! Thought you were too good for us small-time crooks in Port Nowhere."

The tension he saw in Raya's shoulders was enough for Corso to gather that this wasn't your everyday crook, and he watched her plaster on a smile as she momentarily stopped and made eye contact with the man as he continued, "Once you got your hands on Nok Drayen's ship... whoo!"

She sighed and shook her head, "There a reason you're crowding my personal space?"

She tried to push past him, but he simply stepped back into her path again, and Corso watched her jaw clench in annoyance. He felt himself step closer to her as his eyes narrowed dangerously on the man.

"Can I buy you a drink? Get some pointers?" The man asked, staring down at her, "I've been waiting for this a long time..."

Squaring her shoulders, she glared up at him, "You're, uh, droolin' on the rug there, buddy," she muttered, pushing past him again, "and colour me flattered, but I got places to be."

The man reached out and took hold of her forearm, stopping her before she wrenched it from his grasp and Corso felt his blood begin to boil as he stepped up beside her.

"Actually," the man replied, lifting his hands in temporary surrender as she rounded on the man, angry now, "I'm not the only one who's been waiting."

He pulled out a holocommunicator and dialed a frequency. After a few seconds, the holo blinked to life to reveal a chagrian man in a long jacket and an air of power staring back at them with the corner of his mouth pulled upwards in a smirk, "So... I've been hearing your name for a while now." He said, his smile widening, "Almost as long as you've been hearing mine."

"Don't tell me." Raya said, holding up a hand, her brow furrowing for a moment, "Rogun the Butcher."

He simply gave her a slight nod, "You lost a blaster shipment of mine some time back, and I don't remember ever getting an apology. How 'bout it, Captain? You know how to say 'I'm sorry'?"

The Captain rolled her eyes, her hands settling on her hips as she regarded him, "Oh come on! Skavak lost that shipment, and he's dead now. I ain't apologizing for something that wasn't my fault."

"Plenty of blame to go around." The holo responded, "I'm generous that way."

Raya's mouth turned up in a fake smile, "Aw, well ain't you just the sweetest vengeful crime boss there is?"

"No one steals from me and lives, girl." He responded, glaring at her, "And don't try to change my mind. You're not my type."

He spoke again, loud enough for the entire patronage to hear, "All right, it's open season! A hundred-thousand credits to the man who brings me that pretty head."

Raya's eyes narrowed dangerously at the man as several thugs divided themselves from the din of the cantina and surrounded them, "Your days are numbered, Rogun." She grumbled maliciously, "Start countin'."

"Nah," He shook his head, "you're not running away this time. My men have your hangar locked down tight."

"Good. I've been itchin' for some action." Raya replied sweetly, whipping out a blaster and firing off a shot directly at the thug's hand, watching in satisfaction as the holocomm flew across the cantina floor and flickered back into darkness as the thug screamed in agony, clutching his hand to his chest, "Boring conversation anyway."

"Get her!"

Her blasters were already out and Torchy was in Corso's hands before the first thug had a chance to blink. Two of them were already bleeding out by the time he and Raya hopped the counter and ducked into cover behind the bar, and when he looked over at her, he had to smirk at the wide unrestrained grin on her face as she peeked out from behind the countertop to down a couple more thugs.

"How's it feel to be back in the game, Captain?" He asked, flinching as a blaster bolt ricocheted off the bar near his head.

She looked over at him, her eyes wild and the broad feral grin giving him pause for a moment before she responded, "Feels good to be shooting at something again."

He smiled at her with a slight shake of his head, and she turned back around to fire over the counter at a pirate standing out in the middle of the action and... missed entirely. He looked at her, confused for a moment as she ducked back behind the bar and she just shrugged, "So I'm a little rusty. It's been a while. Gimme a break!"

Blaster bolts burned holes into the wall behind the bar, shattering bottles on the shelves and atop the counter, making glass shards rain down on them. One bottle on the shelf directly above the Captain shattered and sprayed her with whiskey as she was taking aim. She flinched, ducking back under the counter again and shielding her eyes as she shook glass and whiskey out of her ponytail, "Oh, _come on_!"

"Ray!" Corso shouted, concerned.

"I'm fine!" She responded, and glaring in rage, she popped back up from cover again and aimed a second time, "That better not have ruined my jacket, you sorry womp rats!" Her anger helped her regain her skill quickly (just like riding a speeder, he supposed) and before long, they had cleared out the main room with no serious injuries to show for it, taking a moment to catch their breaths and gather their bearings, and thanking their lucky stars that the bar was sturdier than the shelves above it.

"A hundred-thousand credits." Raya muttered, shaking her head in mild surprise, wiping any remaining whiskey from her clothes and frowning at the dark wet fabric of her jacket, praying that the stains weren't permanent.

"That's, uh, quite the bounty." Corso replied matter-of-factly, smirking slightly as he pulled a stray shard of glass out of her hair. She glowered darkly at it, pouting like a child, and he couldn't help but chuckle a little in response.

"The man's psychotic. That's almost triple the price of those blasters I supposedly 'lost'." She rolled her eyes with a shrug, "I thought I was bad with grudges, but he makes it an art form. I _so _was not getting paid enough for that job."

"We gotta find Darmas." Corso said, and she nodded again, examining her blasters for a moment before making her way deeper into the cantina and gesturing for him to follow.

"Agreed."

They found Darmas in the VIP room, tied to a chair and surrounded by three more thugs. Making quick work of the guards with the help of one of Ray's flash grenades and a few well-placed blaster shots from Torchy, she and Corso made their way into the room.

"Captain!" Darmas called upon their approach, "Good thing you're prompt, or I'd be a dead man. The moment we got off the link, Rogun's men turned up."

Nearby, an older woman sat tied to another chair, looking thoroughly unamused. Corso made his way over to Darmas to untie him and as Raya approached the woman to free her, she said, "Nice work taking care of those thugs. I wouldn't want your life, Captain, but it's rather a thrill to watch."

Raya's mouth twitched upwards as she winked at Corso across the way, "Well there's never a dull moment, that's for sure."

"This is Senator Bevera Dodonna." Darmas said, rubbing his wrists where they had been bound as he rose to his feet, "I work with her now. Rah, rah! Hail the Republic—etcetera, etcetera."

Raya shook her head in confusion, "Never took you for a lover of politics, Darmas. What's a senator want with someone like you?"

Dodonna, who had risen to her feet by this time to join in the conversation, smiled at her and tilted her head in greeting, "I've been investigating how the Republic can make better use of... independent-minded soldiers of freedom."

Raya's eyebrow cocked upwards on her forehead and she felt herself smirk, her arms coming up to cross over her chest as she shifted her weight to her right leg, "So that's what they're callin' us?"

"Indeed." Was Darmas's response, "The Republic is interested in us, which is why Rogun tried to shut us down. He's an Imperial lackey. His whole criminal empire answers directly to Imperial Command."

"There's an Imperial fleet waiting out there." The senator added, "Rogun's men were going to deliver us to the Imperials!"

"Well that explains why he's such a bastard." Raya responded, glowering, "I think it's high time we put the Butcher down."

"And, if you accept my offer," Dodonna proposed, "you won't have to take him on alone."

"Offer? What offer?"

"The Republic is looking for men and women of action. Patriots without the restrictions of a trooper's uniform." The senator took a step forward, "How would you like a commission from the Galactic Senate, authorizing you as a privateer naval captain, tasked to target Imperial forces at will?"

"Go where I want, kill Imperials and get paid for it? Sounds too good to be true." Raya muttered, her eyes narrowing as her arms folded over her chest, "What's the catch?"

"We can't support you openly... but I think those are the kinds of missions you prefer. It's a straightforward deal. We give you targets, cargo, the job we need done, and all the support we can covertly provide." Dodonna explained, "In return, we look the other way about any laws you break, or private gains you make along the way."

"Aw, but the law-breaking is what makes this job so fun." Raya said with a smirk, before turning to Corso, "What do you think?"

"There... are other ways to have fun than breaking the law." He responded, and she winked at him, her smile becoming one that she reserved just for him. "Sounds like a good deal, Captain."

Raya shrugged, turning back to Dodonna again, "Good way to get back into the action, I guess, and it's not like I had any other jobs lined up. You got yourself a deal, Senator."

The woman nodded gracefully, "Then, by the power vested in me by the Galactic Senate, I hereby swear you in as a true servant of the Republic, privateer."

Raya, ever the professional, returned the nod, "So, where to first?"

"Our top target right now is Balmorra. One of the most likely hotspots for open war to be declared."

The captain rolled her eyes, "Is there anyone in the galaxy who still thinks we _aren't_ at war?"

"The longer we lie, the more people live."

"I know we're waiting until they're on-planet for a full briefing," Darmas offered, breaking his uncharacteristic silence, "but maybe in a word...?"

"Balmorra used to supply half the Republic's military resources. Now it's occupied by the Imperials and all that technology is going to the—"

The senator was interrupted by an obnoxious alarm, and shouts about Imperial fleets de-cloaking and suddenly surrounding the station. One crazed attendant ran off screaming about the Voidwolf while Raya met Corso's eye. Darmas parted ways with them after insisting that they flee while he attempted to jump the entire cantina-ship out of the Empire's sights.

* * *

><p>As soon as they returned to the <em>Dace Legacy<em>, Raya called up Darmas' holo, making sure everyone got out okay before finally letting herself relax a little. It was getting late, so she gathered the rest of the crew into the kitchen to update them on the situation before hitting the 'fresher and retreating to her quarters. She tried to relax enough to get some sleep, but she was restless. The excitement of a fresh job and profits to be gained after such a long break kept Raya's mind in motion, and when she wasn't thinking of the upcoming job, thoughts of her sister's death would come creeping in.

Finally, her frustration caught up with her and she jumped out of bed, making her way to the bridge, feeling immediately comforted by the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace. It wasn't until she was next to the co-pilot's chair that she noticed Corso there, his boots propped up on the control panel and his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were closed, but the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest told her he wasn't asleep, and he stirred when she settled in the captain's chair beside him, immediately straightening and removing his boots from the controls with a mumbled apology.

Chuckling slightly, she shook her head, lifting her own boots to match his previous position as she reached across the space between them and playfully nudged his shoulder, "Relax. Long as you don't crash the ship, you're fine."

He just gave her a sheepish grin before unfurling his arms, taking her hand and folding it into his own.

"Can't sleep either?" She asked.

"Nah." He shook his head, and let out a sigh, "Kinda restless, thinking about the mission. Sounds like we're gonna be walking on eggshells again on Balmorra, Captain."

Raya groaned, "No kidding. Thought we were done with that after Alderaan. One wrong move, and the Empire could declare war on the Republic... y'know, _officially_."

He grinned, "No pressure or anything."

She returned the smile, and they sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Getting lost in the blue swirls outside the viewport, Raya let herself think of the warm hand in hers, rough and callused with years of blaster maintenance and use. The strong arm attached to it, corded with thick muscle, and the way it encircled her in a cocoon of safety in her weakest and most vulnerable moments. The man in his entirety, the way he never judged her and saw past her scars to the woman beneath and loved her, scars and all. This wonderful, handsome, strong man who had come into her life after she'd lost everything she ever loved and picked up the pieces of her shattered heart.

Feeling a rush of affection for the man beside her, she pushed herself to her feet and rounded the co-pilot's chair, stepping over his legs as he watched her and climbing into his lap to straddle him. Grinning, he brought her hands up around his neck, and she met his forehead with her own, closing her eyes and just breathing in his scent. Blaster oil and solder smoke and something else she couldn't place but had only come to associate with Corso. She silently thanked him for being here with her, for loving her despite her fumbling attempts at loving him back before it hit her that she hadn't even told him as much yet.

"I love you," she blurted before she had a chance to second-guess the thought as she opened her eyes, "you know that?"

His eyes popped open and he stared up into her own in wonder for a moment before his mouth cracked into that playful sideways smirk that had to be from her influence and said, "I know." She breathed a quick laugh as his hands came up to frame her face and he kissed her in a way that showed her just how much he appreciated her saying so before pulling away and meeting her eyes again, "Nice to hear you say it though."

She smiled and met his lips with her own again, deepening it as she felt that familiar heat pooling in her belly and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body tight to his. Her fingers of one hand tugged slightly on his hair as the other hand slid around to the side of his neck and down his chest. When they finally came up for air, she whispered, "You still restless?"

"I might be." He replied, his breath hot against her cheek.

She smirked, "What do you say we head back to my quarters and have a little fun?"

His only answer was the sudden jolt of his body against hers as he leapt to his feet with her in his arms, and carried her out of the cockpit laughing to disappear behind the door to her room.


	18. Motivations

_Author's Note_

Well! This was an experience. If you're thrown off by the beginning of this chapter, then I have successfully done my job as the writer. I apologize if it's difficult to read (both literally and emotionally) but the whole chapter isn't like it, I promise. It was difficult for me to write, because it's a style I'm really not accustomed to, but I hope I managed to convey the effect I was going for.

Endless thanks to my watchers/readers/lurkers/reviewers for sticking with me this long. I love you all so dearly.

Many thanks to **LarynChillbreeze** in particular for listening to me rant about my characters and helping me keep Corso sounding like Corso. Southern accents are hard. :/

Enjoy!

- BB

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>Chapter Eighteen: **_Motivations_

It's cold. Dark. Chills rush down my arms, making gooseflesh spring to life on my skin. I'm trembling. I spare a moment to wonder where the _hell_ my jacket is when familiar screams echo in a metallic chamber. Dull light springs into my dark space through what looks like a window—no, a duct. I'm on my knees, but I can't stand up. The duct; I'm inside it. Movement is limited.

More angry screaming, pulling my attention to the slots in the sealed metal door. I crawl to the door, peering through the opening to see what the commotion is all about. Something seems familiar about all this, but I just can't place it. Through the opening, I see a young woman—a girl—kicking and screaming as she struggles to escape from the arms of two grown men. I can't see her face, but something tells me I know this girl. Something tells me I should be _doing_ something rather than sitting here like a _lump_. I sat and watched before, as a child—I know this, but I don't know _how_ I know—but I'm a grown woman now, and a _damn_ good shot. I _can_ do something.

I manage to shift my legs in front of me and start kicking at the opening to the chamber. It takes a few good kicks, but the door eventually dislodges and flies a good few feet away from the wall, and I clamber out behind it, squinting in the artificial light.

Coruscant. G17 District.

I'm home.

The girl screams again, and my blaster is in my hand (where did _that_ come from?). Two quick shots, and the men attacking the girl are dead. She collapses to the ground before me and I rush to her aid, where I finally see her face.

_Minara._

She's as I remember her. Thirteen years old, but she's terrified and crying. I stare at her in shock for a moment before yanking her indelicately into my arms, holding her tight.

"Ray." She mutters into my shoulder, frightened trembles racking her body as she wraps her arms around my neck, "You saved me."

I missed her. She was my protector, and now I'm hers. I won't let anything happen to her this time. I tell her as much, and she laughs a little before she starts to cry again. I hold her as tight as I can without hurting her, and her crying turns to wails.

"It hurts!" She exclaims suddenly.

Concerned, I pull away from her, and I can only watch in horror as the skin of her face bubbles and peels in a way that seems all-too-familiar. It's not just her face, I realize as I check elsewhere. It's her whole body, burning from an unseen catalyst. Invisible flames, or acid, or whatever. It doesn't matter. It's licking at her skin, peeling away every bit of flesh that I can see in the space of seconds. Minara is dying, and I can't do anything to stop it.

I scream her name.

And it is then that the fire becomes visible. The scenery changes. We're in a burning room with no escape. Minara is engulfed in flames, her agonized screams tearing at my soul. I reach for her, but it's too late. She's already gone. She dies, and so do the flames. The only thing left on her charred remains when the chaos fades is a beaded bracelet, the colours faded, the string frayed and worn.

I look away, tears blurring my vision. My gaze lands on two black boots standing beside me as I kneel beside my dead sister's body. I follow the boots up to see a figure cloaked in black, the unmistakeable hilt of a lightsaber at its belt. The only features visible under its hood are a pair of menacing eyes, unnaturally yellow and fixed in what I can only describe as a sneer.

I lunge at it in vengeful fury, but it disappears in a wisp of black smoke laughter fading as the smoke dissipates into darkness. Deprived of my revenge, my frenzied screams tear my throat raw as I kneel over what's left of my sister.

I'm left alone with my failure.

Alone.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ray! <em>It's me! Wake _up_!"

Raya's eyes shot open and she came back to the waking world with a gasp. Her wrists were restrained by her head and there was a heavy weight on top of her, keeping her still.

Blinking furiously and disoriented, she struggled to understand what was happening as tears left her eyes and spilled out over her temples. She was trembling and breathing heavily, her heart pounding in her chest, but as the tears cleared from her vision, she could see only another set of eyes meeting her own, dark brows drawn together in a concerned frown as a familiar face hovered over her in the waning light.

"Ray, it's me. It's Corso." He said gently, releasing one of her hands to place a palm against her cheek, "You were having a nightmare."

She focused on his face, the eyes that looked on her with love and admiration constantly, the scars that gave him character. The cool touch of his hand on her face. There was a smear of blood beneath his nose and he was sniffing every few seconds.

A moment passed, and she was finally able to find her voice, "... Corso?"

His mouth pulled upwards in a gentle but concerned smile, "There's my Captain."

Her body relaxed with an immense sigh of relief as she closed her eyes, the images of her dream still unpleasantly fresh in her mind. _That was the worst one yet._ She opened her eyes again while her free hand lifted to his cheek and she studied his face. He sniffed again, and she finally put two and two together when she noticed the blood under his nose a second time. She grimaced, "Did... I do that?"

He smirked, "Y'know, for someone right-handed, you got a hell of a left hook."

"Sorry," she said, wincing sheepishly, then pushed on his chest, "We'd better fix it before you start bleeding all over my bed... and me."

He rolled off her and sat up on the edge of the bed. Raya took his hand and made him pinch his nose while she got to her feet. When the chill of the _Legacy_'s cool air nipped at her skin, she felt Corso's eyes on her and remembered she was naked, so she picked up the first article of clothing she saw—Corso's shirt—and pulled it over her head. And okay, maybe it _wasn't _the first bit of clothing she saw, but she liked doing it. The act of wearing her boyfriend's shirt—though cheesy and clichéd—was something that in all her experience, she'd never done before her relationship with Corso. The sentimentality she associated with it just seemed out of place for all her past... dalliances. And hey, just because something was a little cheesy or clichéd didn't make it a bad thing. Maybe she wanted a little cheese now and then. Wasn't that one of the main things she liked about Corso? That he was so... different than the men she usually gravitated to? That he wasn't only her lover, but also her friend, her equal, her confidant and partner. The shirt, tight on Corso, was actually quite loose on her small frame and sufficiently covered her well enough to step out of her room for a few minutes in the middle of the ship's sleep-cycle.

"Keep your head up, but don't tilt it back too far." She instructed as she padded barefoot out into the hall in search of a medpac, "I'll be back in a sec."

She found the medpac in the engine room and headed back towards her quarters, but had to stop for a moment in the hall when the sight of her sister's flesh bubbling and melting like the acid that burned her own face so long ago suddenly appeared in her mind's eye so clearly she could practically _smell_ the burning flesh. Nausea churned the meager contents of her stomach and she had to take a moment to collect herself, one hand planted against the wall for support as she met the cool steel of the ship with her forehead, blowing out her cheeks with a sigh. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes again, but she fought them back. _It was just a __**dream**__, damn it! For all I know, she died in her sleep! Pull yourself together!_

Frustrated with herself, she shook her head and regained her composure. By the time she walked back into her quarters, she was still shaken, but satisfied with the opportunity to focus on something that wasn't her nightmare, and convinced that she appeared nothing less than the picture of tired functionality.

Corso wasn't as convinced.

In the time she was gone, he'd managed to wrangle his pants back on without dripping blood all over the place, and was sitting on the floor with one leg bent and the other stretched out before him. One hand was pinching his nose while his head was tilted back against the bed.

As she approached him with a wad of gauze and knelt before him, applying it to his bleeding nose, he looked up at her with his eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed quizzically. She decided she did not want to concentrate on that look, so she remained carefully impassive, entirely focused on the task in front of her.

"You okay, Capdaid?" He asked gently, and in any other situation she would have laughed at his speech, impeded by his temporary lack of nasal passage. There was a look of understanding in his eyes, however, that sobered her amusement and told her she didn't have to answer. But she did.

"Yeah," she said, too quickly, too curt as she attempted to reassure him. She shrugged, smirking, "I should be asking you that."

"Eh, dis ain't nothid'." He muttered with a scoff, "You dink I ain't had a bloody dose before? But, uh... dat was some dightmare."

"I'm okay, Corso. Really." She let out a sigh, meeting his eyes as she lifted one shoulder in another shrug, "Or, I will be. It's just... hard. Y'know?"

"Yeah," he nodded, meeting her eyes as he lifted his hand to brush a strand of her loose hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear, "I dow."

They sat in silence for a moment, her tending to his bloody nose while he busied his hands by rubbing one along the length of her forearm and threading the fingers of the other through her own. "You dow, you don't 'ave to do dis."

"I want to." Raya responded, her lips twisting in a small smile, "It gives me something to focus on, and it's the least I could do after being the reason you're hurt in the first place."

"Well, I sure aid't complaiding." He said as she took the gauze away to study her handiwork and ensure the bleeding had stopped. He sniffed and started to breathe normally as he continued, "And I gotta say, I do enjoy seein' this softer side of you."

The Captain playfully glared at him and nudged his shoulder, "Careful, flyboy, or you'll be sleepin' in the cockpit."

He chuckled and, satisfied with her miracle feats of healing not-so-expertise, she leaned forward, planting her hands on his thighs and pressed a light to kiss to his lips. His hands surrounded her face and pulled her closer, but he recoiled with a grunt when their noses brushed together.

She bit her lip, as she noticed a darkening of the flesh below his right eye, "Sorry about your nose. Looks like I might've gave ya black eye."

"Well , guess I'll just look like a scarred badass for a few days." He replied with a shrug, "Which we both know I ain't, but no one else needs to know that."

Raya shrugged, chuckling a little, "I dunno. Maybe you just need the right kinda motivation."

"Well, I ain't ever gonna let it come to that." He replied, cradling her face in his hands, "'Cause the only thing that'd motivate me to that kinda anger would be if anything ever happened to you."

"Oh?" A mischievous smirk twisted her lips as she lowered herself into his lap, letting her arms surround his shoulders, "You gonna _avenge_ me, farm boy?"

He returned the smirk and inched closer for a kiss, "You better believe it."

"Mmm, too bad I wouldn't be there to see it."

They were joking, certainly. But there was truth in it. They stared death in the face every day of their lives, and now they were jumping right back into the thick of it. And that truth showed itself in the way they kissed each other like there was no tomorrow, right up until it was interrupted by another hiss of pain, another recoil, and another repeated apology.

Balmorra would come along with whatever troubles it had to offer, and all of its citizens demanding her services, if her dealings with other planets were anything to go by. But for tonight, her time was her own, and she was electing to share it with Corso. And dark though her dreams may have been, there were worse ways to wake up than in Corso's arms with his eyes staring into her own with nothing but unconditional love and absolute understanding.


	19. Information Overload

_**a/n: **Geez, this took forever! Eventually, I told my writer's block to take a hike and forced myself to type something. It still took months for that something to become more than just a scrapped document tossed into my computer's recycling bin, but here we are! This chapter has been finished for days now, and I'm far from confident in posting it because it's definitely not my best work, but I'm just sick of looking at it and I need to do something fun after a brutally stressful day at work, so here's chapter 19._

_I'm gonna go collapse on something soft and drown my sorrows in Skyrim._

_Enjoy!_

_- BB_

* * *

><p><strong>Questionable Cargo<br>****Chapter Nineteen:**_ Information Overload_

A sharp rap of metal on metal blasted through the cabin, and Corso felt the Captain jump in his arms a split-second before he woke himself.

Raya let out a sound that was somewhere between a grumble and a groan, pinning her eyes shut and burrowing further into his chest to block out the unwelcome intrusion of light and sound. He was inclined to join her when the sharp knock sounded on the other side of the steel door once again.

"Please tell me that's not who I think it is." The Captain muttered into the crook of his neck.

"Well, it does sound like a certain someone." He replied, a smile teasing at his mouth.

She answered him with an almost anguished groan, "I really don't think I can deal with that droid's yammering first thing after wakin' up. Why couldn't Skavak bring an astromech instead of a steward droid? Least those are somewhat useful."

"Agreed." He said, his smile widening, "Then we could get rid of Risha."

"I heard that!" The mechanic's voice exclaimed from behind the cabin door, the metallic knocking pausing long enough for her to speak. The sound of her voice ironically filled them with a sense of relief that C2-N2 had not been the one to stir them. Sounded like she was hitting the door with something heavy—probably a wrench—in an attempt to wake them up, "Mechanic or not, you'd be lost without me."

"Hey, I'm just glad you're not Seetwo." Replied the Captain, clearing the morning scratchiness from her throat as Corso stretched his shoulders and pressed his palms into his eyes—and recoiled sharply with a pained grunt.

Cluing into his sudden discomfort, Raya's eyes finally opened, "What is i—_oh_." He watched the recollection dawn on her regarding the night before as her gaze settled on his face. Her mouth turned down in a grimace as she reached for him and her cool fingers settled just below his right eye, where, by the look on her face and the flare of pain spreading from the bridge of his nose across his cheekbone at her touch, he knew a bruise was forming. "Aw damn it." She said, keeping her voice low so Risha wouldn't hear, "Corso, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it ain't nothin' serious." He said, taking her hand from his face and folding it in his own, "Nothin's broke, and it certainly ain't my first black eye."

She shook her head, "Man, I really slugged ya, didn't I?"

"Must've been some nightmare." He said, "You, uh… wanna talk about it?"

She took a breath, and he almost thought she might agree to do so. But closing her eyes, she shook her head, "No." And when her eyes opened again he saw the familiar wall that she habitually put up to shield herself from the things that frightened her.

"All right." He said, knowing better than to push her as he planted a kiss on her forehead, "Y'know that I'm always around if ya change your mind."

"Yeah." She replied, offering him a smile, "I know."

"Are you two lovebirds done with the pillow talk or should I come back later?"

"No," said the Captain, "we're fine. What is it, Rish?"

"We're entering Balmorra's system. ETA is thirty minutes. Also, Pollaran wanted you to check in for a full briefing before you touched down."

Raya shook herself awake and pushed into a sitting position as she ran her hands through her hair, "Right. Thanks, Rish."

The mechanic's footsteps were halfway down the hall when they heard her retreating voice, "Hurry up!"

Corso was already standing, stretching each arm across his chest to the side until his shoulders popped. Raya was uncharacteristically silent behind him, and he could feel her gaze on him burning a hole into his back. Turning to face her, he noticed the cold wall in her eyes he saw earlier had been replaced by heat, and she raked her gaze up over his chest to meet his stare.

It was interesting to see the realization dawn on her that he was staring at her expectantly, and when she gave a nearly imperceptible shake of her head, it was like he could see the fog clearing from her mind. "Yes?" She asked, her voice cracking a little, so she cleared her throat.

_Score one for the farm boy._

His lips twitched, resisting the urge to grin victoriously when he outstretched a hand and said, "I think you might have somethin'a mine."

The way her brow arched elegantly on her head as her lips parted slightly made him aware that she was not giving up on this impromptu challenge without a fight, so he prepared himself for her rebuttal. Pushing off the bed to her feet, she stepped past him, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back. He watched as her arms bent back downwards to brush her fingers through the dark curtain of her hair, pulling it to the side to reveal the teasing blue of her eyes and her mouth pulled up at the corner as she looked back at him over her shoulder. She was making quite a show of things, and the way his commandeered shirt rose up with her arms revealed just enough for him to know it was working. He bolstered himself. He could not let this go on any longer than it already had- at least, not if they wanted to get out of here in time to update Darmas before landing on Balmorra. She thought she had the upper hand in this little game of teasing, and he knew that if he let this go on much longer, she'd be right. "Ray, you're swimmin' in that shirt."

"Hey, I think this could be a good look for me." She said, turning back to face him with that teasing grin of hers, planting one hand on a hip that jutted outwards as she shifted her weight to one leg, causing the neck of his shirt to slip down slightly, revealing the line of her collarbone and her narrow shoulder. Her bed-swept hair fell haphazardly over the opposite shoulder, shrouding one side of her face in shadow, and the look in her good eye said something so clear he'd swear she said it aloud: _You're outta your depth, farm boy._

He clenched his jaw, knowing all along that she was right, and felt his fingernails digging into his palms, holding back the nigh uncontrollable urge to reach for her as she took her bottom lip into her mouth. "What?" Her hands inched upwards on her hips, pulling the shirt with it as it bunched beneath her palms and exposed more tantalizing skin to his sight, "You don't think I could… _pull it off_?"

_Blast it._

To the void with Pollaran. He could wait.

* * *

><p>Risha was already there when they stepped into the comm room. She greeted the Captain with a narrowed gaze that said she knew the exact reason for their tardiness, before her eyes landed on Corso. Her lips twitched slightly as one eyebrow lifted upwards on her head and he could see she was hiding a smile, "Rough night?"<p>

He floundered for a moment before somehow finding his words, "You, uh, might say that."

Raya drew the woman's attention with a pointed cough before turning to the comms and keying in a familiar holofrequency, shrugging nonchalantly and refusing to meet the other woman's gaze, "I might've possibly—accidentally—punched him in the nose."

Risha couldn't hold back her laugh then; it bubbled outwards along with the word, "What?!" She looked from Raya to Corso and back again, "How did you manage that?"

A mischievous grin cut across the Captain's face as she made eye contact with him across the room, "I'll just leave that up to your imagination."

The laughter suddenly faded from the mechanic's face and was replaced with a look of disgust as she shook her head of whatever mental image her active imagination had managed to conjure, "Ugh, that was too much information."

He returned Raya's look with a knowing smile behind Risha's back, "Or too little."

The younger woman turned to face him, "Please stop talking."

"Captain!" The holo winked into view, sending a shock of white light flickering through the room as Darmas Pollaran's image appeared before them. His friendly voice reverberated through the distortion of the holo, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he regarded the Captain with the charming grin he was so known for. Raya returned his smile with a nod, and a smile of her own, but he knew she didn't trust the man, and he could see the wariness behind her grin. Corso couldn't see the issue she had with him—Darmas'd always done right by Corso and his friends, and came highly recommended by Viidu, whom Corso had trusted implicitly before his untimely demise.

By now, Corso was accustomed to Raya's mistrustful nature, but he knew she had every reason to be that way and he wouldn't fault her for a precaution that helped ensure her safety in a career as dangerous as the one she'd chosen for herself. And besides, just because it was hard to gain her trust didn't mean that you never would. It just made it that much more rewarding when it had finally been won.

An argument could be made for why she'd agreed to work with the man in the first place, but if she'd refused to work with everyone she didn't trust over the years, Corso had a feeling she'd never have gotten anywhere as a smuggler. You didn't have to trust someone in order to work with them. She'd taught him that when she discovered Risha on her ship. He didn't anticipate a cushy friendship to develop between Pollaran and the Legacy's crew, but if he looked at the fresh companionship and blossoming sense of trust between the Captain and Risha, he supposed anything was possible.

Either way, it was a quick lesson he'd learned early in his career that it wouldn't be smart to trust someone the moment you first meet them- especially in this business—no matter how much you might wish to give them the benefit of the doubt. That was how people got themselves killed, and as much as he didn't wish to believe it, he knew it was true.

"Who would have thought that when we met on Coruscant, I'd be calling you today with a formal Republic briefing?" Pollaran's voice interrupted his thoughts, and Corso realized he was staring intently at the back of the Captain's head. "Senator Dodonna is eager to see how you handle your first mission."

"I'll bet." Raya replied, her hands settling on her hips as she shifted her weight to one leg.

"Balmorra was once the Republic's main supplier of everything military. Until the Empire moved in and the Senate voted to turn tail and run. Which left the Empire holding everything the Republic had commissioned for Project Nebula."

"Project Nebula?" Corso asked, taking a step forward as his interest piqued.

"It was supposed to be the Republic's answer to Imperial aggression. Top-of-the-line prototype capital ships, ion cannons, cluster missiles, and a few experimental goodies."

Raya let out a sigh, and though he couldn't see her face, Corso could practically _feel_ the scale of her eye-roll, "Damn, I know the Republic has done some dumb things in its time, but this is a whole new level of stupid. This whole privateer thing is gonna drive me crazy, I just know it."

"Well, now the Empire is sending the complete Nebula munitions shipment to their front lines. The Republic's got no chance."

"I'm almost tempted to say they deserve it after doing something so stupid." The Captain grumbled, shaking her head for a moment before looking back up at the projection of Pollaran, "You think the munitions'll pick themselves up and migrate back to the Republic?"

Pollaran's mouth twisted to the side in a smirk, "Unlikely. But that's where we need you, and your unique… capabilities."

"How exactly do you expect me to do that? The Empire's not gonna leave their best munitions just lyin' around."

"Senator Dodonna wants you to work with the Balmorran resistance. They can help you track down the Nebula shipment, then find a way to divert it to Palliser Station, a Republic base near Corellia."

"So, dangerous mission behind enemy lines, key importance…" Raya trailed off, crossing her arms, "How many zeros are we talkin'?"

"Well, the Senator's affording you a lot of freedom in how you choose to handle the situation. Which gives you an interesting opportunity…"

The Captain's shoulders lifted in a shrug, "I'm listening."

"The Republic wants to get the munitions away from the Empire- however, not enough to pay market value. A smart operator might sell the prototypes back to them piece-by-piece…" he paused long enough to chuckle softly, "not that I'm the one who told you."

"Interesting." Risha chimed in.

"Your contact on the ground is one of the rebels, Numen Brock. Check in with him when you land in Bugtown. Hats off if you can do this thing, Captain." Pollaran said, and the holo winked out of view, sending the comm room back into its typical dimness.

"Bugtown." Raya muttered.

"Sounds charming." Risha added, her eyebrow lifting.

The Captain turned to face her crew, hands on her hips, "Well, who's goin' and who's stayin'?"

"I got your back, Captain." Corso said, taking a step closer.

"I'm coming too." Risha said, "I'm sick of spending all my time inside this stuffy ship; I want a piece of the action."

"Fair enough." Raya turned to the quietest- and largest- member of the Legacy's crew, "How 'bout you, big guy? Feel like huntin' down some prototype weaponry with us?"

"If it's all the same to you, Captain, I'd like to explore the area on my own for a while. I have spent much of my life fighting, but given the choice, I would much prefer to to avoid violence." Bowdaar growled his reply, "I've spent so much of my life in shackles; It's been too long since I've taken the time to explore on my own terms, without the threat of battle looming over me."

"Not sure how much you'll find to explore on Balmorra, but that's fine by me. If anyone gives you trouble, you call me, all right? We'll comm you when we're ready to pull out. As for you two," she turned back to himself and Risha, "grab your gear and be ready to leave as soon as we land. I wanna be done with this place as soon as humanly possible. Seetwo!"

"Yes, Master!"

"Lock down the ship, and don't let anyone in that's not us. We don't want a repeat of the Skavak incident."

"Of course, Master. Do be careful!"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll be fine."

Risha and Bowdaar had already departed from the room, so she turned to Corso and nodded her head toward the cockpit, "Let's grab our gear and land this thing, shall we?"

"Right behind you, Captain."

* * *

><p><em><strong>an: **I could be wrong about the author since it's been a while since I read it, but I think it was clicketykeys who said she headcanoned that Bowdaar was a pacifist at heart, and I couldn't help but agree. _

**_Edit (05/13/15):_**_ Removed the "stealthy C2 bit". When I wrote it, it was on a half-cocked idea that would link this with the companion story about Minara, but I've since found a better way to do so._


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